Since the BPO industry is dependent on knowledge workers, they may be considered as the `raw material' of the industry. Hence, any dilution in the quality of the workforce will result in many operational hitches in the industry. While there are several problems that affect the workforce in the BPO industry, stress has emerged as the most significant problem, causing the employees to underperform and thereby leading to productivity loss. This study takes a close look at the stress related issues facing the employees working in various BPO companies and analyzes the factors responsible for the same.

The Indian IT industry has been steering the growth of the Indian economy in the past one decade unlike any other industry by generating jobs, pushing up exports, increasing FDI, creating wealth, thereby bolstering the forex reserves and also other umpteen visible and invisible ways. This sterling performance of the IT industry was largely on account of its human resources. It is a people-centric industry, where human resources are great strategic advantage to IT companies. The tremendous growth of the IT industry is propelled by the easy availability of competent English knowing professionals with computing knowledge at a relatively low cost due to massive unemployment in the country.

Stress is the reaction that people take due to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them. It arises when they worry that they cannot cope. Stress is a demand made upon the adaptive capacities of the mind and body. According to Selye (1996), stress is a scientific concept which has suffered the mixed blessing of being too well-known and too little understood. According to The Oxford Dictionary (2003), stress is strain, especially worry and nervous tension. According to Pollock (1998), stress is something which is not naturally occurring but is a manufactured concept which has now become a social fact. Strenberg (2000) opines a person's response to the presence of something in the environment that causes him to feel challenged in some way called stress. Mclann and Pearlman (1999) have found that stress of IT professionals can result in revictimization of individuals who often have limited environments in which telling their story is safe and acceptable. Cordes and Doherty (1998) found that healthcare workers who have frequent intense or emotionally changed interactions with others are more prone to burnout. It is found that most popular approaches for reducing stress in the workplace were educational and consultation programs for each individual worker.

Call center (BPO) is one of the most useful scientific developments in the modern world. Many professionals are working in this field. This field needs more concentration, sharpness and intelligence. The work load may be more in this field compared to other fields, because more mental energy is needed to work as it deals with manipulating and processing of data.

Management Research Journal, Business Process Outsourcing, BPO, Indian IT Industry, Scientific Developments, Consultation Programs, Foreign Direct Investments, FDIs, ITES Sector, Null Hypothesis, Networking Department, Primary Data, Socio-Demographic Factors, Consultation Programs, BPO Companies.