6.1 introduction -...

6.1 Introduction

Employee satisfaction is the terminology used to describe whether

employees are happy and contented by fulfilling their needs and desires at

work. Employees are the channels of service delivery and its promotion.

Service delivery is very closely related to the performance of employees.

Human resource has got its incomparable potential and status as far as other

resources are concerned. The real wealth of an organization is its employees

and therefore, the role of employees and their satisfaction needs to be fully

scrutinized to ensure high quality delivery of service.

Job satisfaction is the combination of physiological, psychological and

environmental circumstances that cause a person to say “I am satisfied with

my job” (Harper & Bros, 1935). There are many factors which affect job

satisfaction like, motivation, management style, organizational environment,

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250 Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway

employee involvement and autonomous work position. It is frequently

measured by organizations by using rating scales or Yes/No questions.

In IR, there are about 700 job categories spread over 68 divisions,

units and departments, each vary in job profile and duties. There lies the

complexity of the structure and the difficulty in managing an organization

having the largest number of employees in India.

In railway, labour is considered as a dominant factor of production for

increasing productivity. In order to get the best results from employees,

management must be aware of what employees expect from their employers.

Moreover, dynamic changes have been taking place at a faster rate in

technology; computerization, mechanization of track maintenance, organization

culture etc. to meet the emerging challenges of traffic requirements in

SR. Systematic manpower planning is essential to meet the challenges of the

changing environment, by ensuring that the existing manpower is utilized to the

maximum possible extent. In a service sector like railway, the quality, quantity

and the utilization of human resources become all the more important (Sar. A.

Levitan, Garth .L. Mangum and Ray Marshall,1972).

For the effective utilization of employees, to improve service quality

and for better financial performance, their satisfaction in various factors is

highly required. Performance is considered to be a function of ability and

motivation. Ability depends on education, experience and training. Well

motivated employees are productive and creative.

In this context, satisfaction of employees (who are engaged in running

of trains) across different departments and divisions relating to the changing

organizational environment, attitude of superiors, turnaround related factors

Employees’ Satisfaction

Turnaround in Indian Railways- A Study with Special Reference to Southern Railway 251

and passenger amenities and their co-operation towards employees during the

turnaround period are studied.

Before analyzing the employees’ satisfaction, a brief introduction of

the existing conditions of pay, allowances, medical facilities, hours of work,

rest period, participation in management, staff welfare and training are

furnished in succeeding pages.

6.1.1. Pay, Allowances and Medical facilities

Along with the usual pay, since the employees are liable to work

round the clock a year, they are given National Holiday Allowance and Night

Duty Allowance. Employees are also eligible to get variable pay schemes like

Productivity Linked Bonus for achieving higher productivity by way of

increased output and improved quality of service. Medical facilities are

provided not only to employees but also to dependents, which enable the

employees to work devoid of all worries about the health of employees.

Employees are also compensated on account of unusual working hours

or special nature of duties (such as Overtime Allowance and Running

Allowance) or uncongenial or expensive place of posting (such as Bad

Climate Allowance, Hill Allowance, House Rent Allowance, City

Compensatory Allowance etc.) Employees and their dependents are given

with free passes and Privilege Tickets Orders (PTOs) to travel throughout

India.

6.1.2 Hours of Work and Rest Period

HOER (Hours of Employment Regulations) is applicable to all

railway employees except, those who are covered by Factories Act, excluded

staff like supervisors, medical staff, persons in confidential capacity and

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railway training school staff. The employment of all railway servants is

categorized into four by the General Manager of a zone as:

a) Intensive- 42 hours a week,

b) Essentially intermittent- 48 hours a week,

c) Excluded staff, and

d) Continuous staff which do not fall in any of the category.

For intensive and continuous employees, rest of not less than 30

consecutive hours for every week and for essentially intermittent, rest of not

less than 24 consecutive hours including a full night is allowed.

Running staff are granted each month, a rest of at least 5 periods of

not less than 22 consecutive hours or a rest of at least four periods of not less

than 30 consecutive hours each including a full night. They shall not be away

from headquarters for more than 3 or 4 days at a stretch and the periodical

rest shall be given at headquarters.

6.1.3 Participation in Management

Employees are allowed to form unions to represent their grievances to

the higher ups. There is Permanent Negotiating Machinery (PNM)

functioning at three tiers viz., Railway Board, Zonal level and at the

Divisional level to address the grievances of employees for resolving disputes

between the organized labour and management. Employee’s participation in

management is allowed through PREM for effective interaction of employees

of all categories in decisions relating to safety, modernization, cost reduction

etc. Under participative management, employees feel committed and the staff

is more responsible and willing to carry out the organizational tasks.



For improving productivity, better relation with employees is highly

required. There are two recognized federations at the apex level viz. National

Federation of Indian Railwaymen and All India Railwaymen Federation

(NFIR & AIRF). In Southern Railway, their affiliates are Southern Railway

Mazdoor Union (SRMU, a constituent of AIRF), and Dakshin Railway

Employee’s Union (DREU), affiliated to CITU.

6.1.4 Staff Welfare

SR owns and manages technical institutes and schools for providing

educational facilities and assistance to the children of railway employees,

handicraft centers for increasing family income, hospitals and health units,

financial assistance in sickness, subsidized housing and canteen facilities at

important work places and medical cover for employees and their families

during service and after retirement. In addition, SR has six book banks

functioning at each Divisional Headquarters to cater to the needs of technical

and non-technical students who are wards of railway employees engaged in

higher studies. SR provides funds from Central Staff Benefit Fund for

recreation, amusement and sports activities. Inter-railway cultural

competitions are held every year. Varieties of cultural programme and

holiday camps are being held periodically.

6.1.5 Training Facilities

Manpower planning emphasizes on training to different categories of

staff to improve the skill, to increase productivity and maximize manpower

utilization. Zonal Railway Training Institute at Tiruchirappally is providing

training for Station Masters, Guards and loco pilots on various aspects of

train operation. Technical training is provided at different training schools. A

system of on-the-job counseling is done by nominated supervisors and

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inspectors to ensure that staff works as per rules. Safety camps and annual

safety week are organized to inculcate safety awareness among staff.

Though the employees are provided with many allowances and

incentives, these cannot resolve all the problems. Every employee has certain

expectations, when failed; he develops a feeling of discontent or

dissatisfaction. Similarly, when an employee feels that something is unfair or

unjust in the organization, he confronts a grievance. Grievances may occur

due to a number of factors like, economic, work environment, supervision,

work group or other factors. In this context, the researcher attempts to study

the perceptions of employees relating to the turnaround strategies along with

organizational environment, attitude of superiors, provision of passenger

amenities and their attitude towards employees.

6.2 Employees in Southern Railway

The staff strength of SR for the year 2009-10 is 99329, reduced to

95741 in the year 2010-11 (Pocket book of SR 2010-11). This reduction is

done by downsizing employees in all the departments, except accounts and

administration. The employees of SR belong to nine departments and field

units and the nature of job varies from category to category. There are about

10,140 women employees working in different divisions / units in SR. The

spouse is equally important in the smooth running of the complex system and

plays a vital role in taking care of railway persons and their families in an

informal and passionate manner (R. R. Bhandari, 2005).

The number of employees of SR, category-wise from 2000 to 2010 is

illustrated in table 6.1.



Table 6.1: Group-wise Distribution of Employees

Years Category of employees Total A B C D 2000-01 652 529 87557 44849 133587

2001-02 698 467 86595 42819 130579

2002-03 653 501 85043 40795 126992

2003-04 525 467 73441 32411 106844

2004-05 559 455 75446 29798 106258

2005-06 523 502 75257 28583 104865

2006-07 529 509 76805 27334 105177

2007-08 594 536 76752 26798 104680

2008-09 575 493 85936 15468 102472

2009-10 549 559 77251 20970 99329

Source: SR Annual Report 2000-2010

Table 6.1 reveals that employees’ strength in all categories has not

increased in proportion to the increase in rail traffic over the ten years under

study. In Group C&D categories, instead of an increase, a considerable decrease

is found. Amidst the technological improvement that has taken place in ticketing

and signaling, the pressure of workload of employees with the present volume of

traffic is much more in 2009-10. All these may adversely influence their job

satisfaction. The number of employees in Group D registered a negative trend

over the years and the vast variation for the year 2008 - 09 is due to the VI pay

commission recommendation to abolish the Group D category employees by

granting them Group C status on the basis of securing a pass in qualifying

examination.

An Efficiency Cell under the Planning department conducts crash

studies to identify surplus staff and to make recommendation for staff

reduction. The following categories of staff are taken for the purpose of study.

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6.2.1 Employees under Study

Here, the satisfaction of employees at the operating level through their

perception is analyzed. Operating division performs logistic functions by

which activities of several service departments are coordinated to produce the

end result- transportation. They comprise front-line employees like Station

Masters, Booking/ Reservation clerks, Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs),

and Mechanical staff like Loco pilots and Guards. Front-line employees, who

are in touch with the customers, have to face multiple tasks and it creates

tremendous stress in the minds of employees. They are the persons who

actually deliver service to the travelling public and are directly affected by the

strategies adopted during the turnaround period. The operating performance of

railway depends on team work and service of booking/reservation clerks,

station masters, loco pilots, ticket checking staff etc. They all belong to Group

C category.

6.2.1. A. Station Masters and Station Managers (SMs)

As the name suggests, they are the masters of railway stations and belong

to Traffic Department. Centralized operation of routes, (abolition of signal

cabins) electrification of tracks, doubling of lines and increase in number of

manned un-interlocked gates add immensely to the workload of SMs. In E Class

stations, they are also entrusted with the issue of tickets and provision of required

amenities to the passengers. Due to the new strategies, they are much

overburdened with the operating duties as well as commercial duties. Additional

SMs are not provided in sections where the line capacity exceeds 85 per cent. It

is also observed that additional responsibilities along with work are being thrust

on the cadre and they are overburdened with a lot of documentation work,

physical strain and mental stress.



6.2.1. B. Train Ticket Examiners (TTEs)

TTEs who belong to Commercial Department, are mainly responsible

for ensuring that only bonafide reserved passengers occupy the reserved

seats/berths in trains or to curb ticketless travelling. They are also entrusted

with the safety of passengers inside the coaches against theft, unauthorized

hawking and assisting passengers in emergencies such as accidents, medical

attention etc. Normally, a TTE has to man two AC coaches and one sleeper

class coach or four sleeper class coaches. Now, due to the increase in number

of coaches and introduction of more trains, adequate staff is not provided and

it is observed that two or three TTEs are deputed to handle the whole train.

6.2.1. C. Loco Pilots

Loco pilots (Mail), Loco Pilot (passenger), Loco pilots (goods),

Motormen, Loco pilot (Shunting), Assistant loco pilots and firemen

constitute the category of train drivers and they belong to Mechanical

Department. Safety of passengers is entrusted in their hands. But, rest denial,

over-working through extension of routes, rest period of less than eight

hours, increased outstation detention – all these lead to mental agony and

affect rail safety. The loco pilots have complained through media reports

(Uttar Banga express accident) that their work is always stretched for long

hours without rest resulting in much strain and lead to human errors.

6.2.1. D. Guards

Guards, who belong to Traffic Department, also have the same

categorization as Mail/Express, Passenger, Goods, Assistant guards etc. With

the increase in number of trains, it is learnt that guards can stay at their

homes only after 4 to 5 days of duty. It is also observed that though Guards

are given running allowance and kilometer allowance for the performance of

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duty, they are under physical strain and mental stress due to long hours of

work with less than 8 hours of rest. With the introduction of Duranto trains,

the situation is aggravated. While the Rail Ministry announces a number of

new trains in every budget, the vacancies in operational posts remain unfilled

and the available staff is heavily overburdened.

6.2.1. E. Booking Clerk/ Enquiry Clerk

Booking Clerk/ Enquiry Clerk belong to Commercial department.

Interviews with enquiry/ booking clerks at stations disclosed that they are

working under poor and unhygienic working conditions without even basic

facilities such as toilets, drinking water and proper seating arrangements. They

do not even have secure space to store cash. The lack of customer care training

coupled with operational constraints may lead to poor counter service. It is

observed that in some stations, enquiry counters are manned by ticket collectors

on duty, which may result in serious compromise of their functions.

6.3 Perception

Perception is the process of interpreting the message of people’s

senses to provide order and meaning to the environment (EPW, 2010). It is

the quality of state or capability of being affected by something external.

Perception is not necessarily based on reality, but is merely a perspective

from a particular individual’s view of a situation. Perception has a significant

role in determining whether employees are disengaged, i.e., a phenomenon

where employees are at work, but are minimizing their work contribution.

Disengagement can exist under conditions of poor leadership and when the

co-operation and trust between management and employees is low (Winston.

G. Lewis, Kit. F. Pun, 2007). The managerial actions also affect employee

perception.



6.4 Sample Profile

6.4.1 Age

Age of the employees has an important role in the level of satisfaction

and perception of employees. The age-wise distribution of employees is

given in table 6.2.

Table 6.2: Age-wise distribution of employees

Departments Below 30 30-39 40-49 50-59 Total

Traffic 4 21 22 22 69

(5.8) (30.4) (31.9) (31.9) (100.0)

Commercial 2 6 16 14 38

(5.3) (15.8) (42.1) (36.8) (100.0)

Mechanical 0 27 65 1 93

(0.0) (29.0) (69.9) (1.1) (100.0)

Total 6 54 103 37 200

(3.0) (27.0) (51.5) (18.5) (100.0)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total

Age-wise classification shows that 51.5 per cent of the total

employees belong to 40-49 age group and 27 per cent belong to 30-39 age

group. Only 3 per cent employees are in the below 30 age group. It is

amazing to note that 70 per cent of the employees of Mechanical department

belong to 40-49 age group and 37 per cent of employees of Commercial

department and 32 per cent of the employees of Traffic department are in the

50-59 age group. This has a slight impact on the productivity of employees,

as they are sent to periodical medical examination after the age of 45 and if

they are found unfit, they are kept under supernumerary post.

6.4.2 Gender

Gender-wise classification shows that 86.5 per cent are male

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employees and 13.5 per cent are women employees. In all the three

categories, 10 to 15 per cent of the employees represent female and the

majority of employees (85% and above) are male. The domination of male

employees is comparatively higher in Commercial department. The reduction

in female employees in all the three categories may be due to arduous and

inconvenient shift duties at isolated places.

Table 6.3: Gender-wise Classification of Employees

Departments Male Female Total

Traffic 60 9 69

(87.0) (13.0) (100.0)

Commercial 34 4 38

(89.5) (10.5) (100.0)

Mechanical 79 14 93

(84.9) (15.1) (100.0)

Total 173 27 200

(86.5) (13.5) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total

6.4.3 Educational Qualification

The break-up of the educational background of employees belonging

to different categories of employees is presented in table 6.4.

Table 6.4: Profile of Educational Qualification

Departments SSLC Degree PG Professional/ Technical Total

Traffic 12 12 40 5 69

(17.4) (17.4) (58.0) (7.2) (100.0)


(0.0) (28.9) (63.2) (7.9) (100.0)


(7.5) (17.2) (1.1) (74.2) (100.0)

Total 19 39 65 77 200

(9.5) (19.5) (32.5) (38.5) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total



It is clear from the table that majority (71 %) of the employees is

either PG, Professional or technical graduates. In the case of traffic

department, 58 per cent of the employees are PG and in the Mechanical

department, 74.2 per cent of the employees are either professionals or with

technical qualification, as technical qualification is inevitable in Mechanical

department. In Commercial department, all the employees are either PG

(63.2%) or graduates (28.9%) or with professional qualification (7.9%).

Employees with SSLC only are comparatively higher in Traffic department.

6.4.4 Marital status

The classification of employees on the basis of marital status is given

in table 6.5. It is understood that more than ninety per cent of the employees

are married and hence the married employees dominate the sample.

Table 6.5: Distribution of Employees on the Basis of Marital Status

Departments Single Married Total

Traffic 6 63 69

(8.7) (91.3) (100.0)

Commercial 5 33 38

(13.2) (86.8) (100.0)

Mechanical 8 85 93

(8.6) (91.4) (100.0)

Total 19 181 200

(9.5) (90.5) (100.0)


6.4.5 Employment of Spouse

As the majority of employees are married, the study attempts to find

out whether the spouse is employed or not. On an average, under all the three

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categories of employees, 55.5 per cent of the employees have employed

spouse. The employment of spouse is comparatively more in the case of

Mechanical department.

Table 6.6: Distribution of Employees on the Basis of Employment of Spouse

Departments Yes No Total

Traffic 35 34 69

(50.7) (49.3) (100.0)

Commercial 22 16 38

(57.9) (42.1) (100.0)

Mechanical 54 39 93

(58.1) (41.9) (100.0)

Total 111 89 200

(55.5) (44.5) (100.0)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value, with a degree of freedom 2 is 0.615 and is not significant at 5% level.

6.4.6 Length of Service

Longer the service, greater the experience and the length of service

has an important role in the level of satisfaction. Table 6.7 indicates that 63.5

per cent of the employees have more than 20 years of service and the length

of service is comparatively lower among Mechanical category of employees

(57%). Those who have less than ten years of service constitute nearly 16.2

per cent in Mechanical department and 10 per cent in case of Commercial

department. Not even a single employee fall in this category in Traffic

department. This indicates that new appointments have not been made

significantly for the past ten years.



Table 6.7: Distribution of Employees on the Basis of Length of Service

Departments Less than 5 years 5-9 years 10-14

years 15-19 years

20 and above Total

Traffic 0 0 17 4 48 69

(0.0) (0.0) (24.6) (5.8) (69.6) (100.0)

Commercial 1 3 3 5 26 38

(2.6) (7.9) (7.9) (13.2) (68.4) (100.0)

Mechanical 14 1 15 10 53 93

(15.1) (1.1) (16.1) (10.8) (57.0) (100.0)

Total 15 4 35 19 127 200

(7.5) (2.0) (17.5) (9.5) (63.5) (100.0)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom, 4 is 0.233 and is not significant at 5% level.

The study attempts to look into the employees’ satisfaction regarding

organizational environment, attitude of superiors, turnaround related factors,

present passenger amenities and attitude of passengers to employees.

6.5 Organizational Environment

Job satisfaction usually varies according to the organizational

environment. Change in market condition, technology and government

policies necessitate change in environment.

6.5.1 Present Pay

Table 6.8 indicates that 40.5 per cent of the total employees feel that the

present pay is either less than they deserve or very low in relation to other jobs.

37.5 per cent of the employees opined it as moderate and 22 per cent of the

employees have the opinion as either well paid or commensurate with work.

45 per cent of Traffic department employees have the opinion that the pay is

less than they deserve or very low. However, 28.9 per cent of the employees

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of Commercial department expressed that they are well paid. Not even a single

employee of Mechanical department has expressed it as well paid and it

indicates that these employees are not satisfied with the present pay. Table 6.8: Employees’ Perception Regarding Present pay

Departments Well paid Commensurate with work Moderate Less than I

deserve

Very low in relation to similar jobs

Total

Traffic 2 14 22 17 14 69

(2.9) (20.3) (31.9) (24.6) (20.3) (100.0)


(28.9) (10.5) (18.4) (42.1) (0.0) (100.0)

Mechanical 0 13 46 28 6 93

(0.0) (14.0) (49.5) (30.1) (6.5) (100.0)

Total 13 31 75 61 20 200

(6.5) (15.5) (37.5) (30.5) (10.0) (100.0)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom, 6 is 0.002 and is significant at 5% level.

6.5.2 Promotion Policy

Regarding Promotion policy, 43 per cent of the total employees opined

that it is based on seniority, followed by 37 per cent as unfair. Majority of

employees of Mechanical (60.2%) and Commercial departments (31.6%) are of

the opinion that it is based on seniority and is fair and transparent. Dissatisfaction

towards promotion policy is at the maximum in case of employees of Traffic

department (52.2%). However, in Commercial department, equal number of

persons expressed it as both fair and unfair (28.9 %).



Table 6.9: Employees’ Perception Regarding Promotion Policy

Departments Fair and transparent

Based on seniority

Based on performance

Regular promotion Unfair Total

Traffic 2 18 3 10 36 69

(2.9) (26.1) (4.3) (14.5) (52.2) (100.0)

Commercial 11 12 2 2 11 38

(28.9) (31.6) (5..3) (5.3) (28.9) (100.0)

Mechanical 0 56 0 10 27 93

(0.0) (60.2) (0.0) (10.8) (29.0) (100.0)

Total 13 86 5 22 74 200

(6.5) (43.0) (2.5) (11.0) (37.0) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom, 4 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.

The difference in the level of satisfaction in promotion policy may be due to the variation in promotion policy adopted for different categories of employees.

6.5.3 Training

Table 6.10 shows that 72 per cent of the total number of employees gets sufficient training. 86.8 per cent of the employees of Commercial department and 68 per cent each of employees of Mechanical and Traffic department are of the opinion that they get proper training. It implies that all the three categories of employees are reasonably satisfied with regard to the training imparted to employees.

Table 6.10: Employees’ Perception on Training Facility


Traffic 47 22 69

(68.1) (31.9) (100)

Commercial 33 5 38

(86.8) (13.2) (100)

Mechanical 64 29 93

(68.8) (31.2) (100)

Total 144 56 200

(72.0) (28.0) (100) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 2 is 0.077 and is not significant at 5% level.

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Comparatively, more employees of Commercial department get

proper training compared to other departments.

6.5.4 Basis of Selection for Training

Table 6.11 indicates that while 72.7 per cent of the total employees

stated that training is given on seniority basis, 20.1 per cent as no basis and

7.2 per cent opined it as on merit basis. This may be due to the fact that

different types of training are given on the basis of the requirements of the

case. It is given mostly on the basis of seniority for all the three departments.

Besides, special types of training are given to Commercial department; based

on the requirements. It is observed that regular on- the- job refresher training

is given as and when it is due.

Table 6.11: Basis of Selection for Training

Department Basis of selection

Total Merit Seniority No basis

Traffic 14 39 13 66

(21.2) (59.1) (19.7) (100.0)

Commercial 0 19 19 38

(0.0) (50.0) (50.0) (100.0)

Mechanical 0 83 7 90

(0.0) (92.2) (7.8) (100.0)

Total 14 141 39 194

(7.2) (72.7) (20.1) (100.0)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 2 is 0.002 and is significant at 5% level.

92.2 per cent of employees of Mechanical department get training

based on their seniority and not even a single employee in Mechanical and

Commercial department gets training based on merit. Only in Traffic

department, training is given on merit basis.



6.5.5 Participation in Other Activities

To relieve them from their hectic schedule of work, employees are

allowed to participate in other activities like, running of co-operative

societies, cultural activities, trade union and other activities.

Table 6.12: Employees’ Participation in other Activities

Departments Employee's co-operative

societies Cultural Trade

Union Sports

activities Others Cultural &

Trade union

Total

Traffic 11 11 31 2 8 3 66

(16.7) (16.7) (47.0) (3.0) (12.1) (4.5) (100)

Commercial 7 1 8 11 6 3 36

(19.4) (2.8) (22.2) (30.6) (16.7) (8.3) (100)

Mechanical 20 16 40 0 5 12 93

(21.5) (17.2) (43.0) (0.0) (5.4) (12.9) (100)

Total 38 28 79 13 19 18 195

(19.5) (14.4) (40.5) (6.7) (9.7) (9.2) (100)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 6 is 0.036 and is not significant at 5% level.

Table 6.12 reveals that 40 per cent of employees are engaged in trade

union activities followed by 19.5 per cent in co-operative societies and 14.4

per cent cultural activities. The same trend is there in Mechanical and Traffic

departments. However, in Commercial department, 30.6 per cent of the

employees are participating in sports activities, 22.2 per cent in trade union

activities. Employees poorly participate in Cultural and other activities.

6.6. Attitude of Superiors

The attitude of superiors has an influence on the employees’

satisfaction. It is learnt from the table that none of the employees of both

Traffic and Mechanical department have viewed it as excellent and 28 per

cent of the total employees have stated it as poor. 31.6 per cent of the

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employees belonging to Commercial department have rated it as very good

and 8 per cent as excellent. 36 per cent of the employees of Mechanical and

25 per cent of Traffic department are of the opinion that attitude of superiors

is poor. Hence, it is found that level of satisfaction is very poor in case of

employees of Mechanical and Traffic departments and is better in case of

Commercial department.

Table 6.13: Perception on Attitude of Superiors

Departments Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Poor Total

Traffic 0 4 22 26 17 69

(0.0) (5.8) (31.9) (37.7) (24.6) (100.0)


(7.9) (31.6) (21.1) (21.1) (18.4) (100.0)

Mechanical 0 11 31 18 33 93

(0.0) (11.8) (33.3) (19.4) (35.5) (100.0)

Total 3 27 61 52 57 200

(1.5) (13.5) (30.5) (26.0) (28.5) (100.0)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is 0.033 and is significant at 5% level.

6.6.1 Grievance Reporting

When employees face any grievance regarding the organizational

environment or any matter connected with their work, it is imperative to see

whether they report the grievances to the authorities and in what way they

respond to it. Table 6.14 shows that almost all the employees (98%) report

their grievances. Two per cent of the employees who do not report their

grievance belong to traffic department and it might be due to their

indifference.



Table 6.14: Perception on Grievance Reporting


Traffic 65 4 69

(94.2) (5.8) (100.0)

Commercial 38 0 38

(100.0) (0.0) (100.0)

Mechanical 93 0 93

(100.0) (0.0) (100.0)

Total 196 4 200

(98.0) (2.0) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total.

6.6.2 Response to the Grievance

Table 6.15 illustrates the response to the grievance and it is learnt that 66.3

per cent of the total employees are of the opinion that the authorities respond only

with repeated reminders. Similar is the case with Traffic and Mechanical

department. 34.2 per cent of the employees of Commercial department opined that

the superiors are delegating powers to redress the grievance.

Table 6.15: Perception on Response to the Grievance

Departments Forwarding to

higher authorities

Delegating powers to

redress the grievance

Respond only with repeated

reminders No response Total

Traffic 14 6 39 6 65

(21.5) (9.2) (60.0) (9.2) (100.0)


(15.8) (34.2) (34.2) (15.8) (100.0)


(2.2) (5.4) (83.9) (8.6) (100.0)

Total 22 24 130 20 196

(11.2) (12.2) (66.3) (10.2) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.

Chapter 6


Though almost all the employees from the three departments report

their grievances, the authorities respond only with repeated reminders. In

some cases, they don’t get any response also. The researcher could observe

while interviewing with certain employees that they are not satisfied with the

attitude of the superiors in redressing their grievances. The employees of

Commercial department get no response (15.8%) from the superiors.

6.6.3 Opportunity to give Suggestions

Participation of employees in management and operation by giving them

opportunity to provide suggestions would definitely add the morale of employees.

Table 6.16: Opportunity to give Suggestions

Departments Highly satisfied Satisfied Moderate Dissatisfied Highly

dissatisfied Total

Traffic 00 12 12 30 11 65

(00) (18.5) (18.5) (46.2) (16.9) (100.0)

Commercial 00 12 15 10 1 38

(00) (31.6) (39.5) (26.3) (2.6) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 7 37 39 10 93

(00) (7.5) (39.8) (41.9) (10.8) (100.0)

Total 00 31 64 79 22 196

(00) (15.8) (32.7) (40.3) (11.2) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is 0.001 and is significant at 5% level.

It is shown that 51.5 per cent of the total employees are dissatisfied as

they are not given opportunity to make suggestions. Traffic (63.1%) and

Mechanical department (52.7%) employees opined that they are not given

enough opportunity to give suggestions. As far as employees of Commercial

department are concerned, the attitude of superiors in this respect is either

satisfied (31.6%) or moderate (39.5%). Hence the employees of Traffic and

Mechanical are dissatisfied with the prevailing opportunity to give

suggestions. Since they are given such an opportunity, the study attempts to



find whether their suggestions are considered in arriving at policy decisions.

6.6.4. Acceptance of Suggestions in Decision Making

It is evident from table 6.17 that 58 per cent of the total employees are

either dissatisfied or highly dissatisfied with the acceptance of suggestions in

decision making. Majority of employees belonging to Traffic (64.6%) and

Mechanical departments (60.5%) are either dissatisfied or highly dissatisfied

in this respect as they are not given opportunity to give suggestions.

However, the majority of employees in the Commercial Department (60.5%)

are of the view that their suggestions are accepted in decision making.

Table 6.17: Acceptance of Suggestions in Decision Making

Departments Highly satisfied Satisfied Moderate Dissatisfied Highly

dissatisfied Total

Traffic 00 1 22 37 5 65

(00) (1.5) (33.8) (56.9) (7.7) (100.0)

Commercial 00 10 13 11 4 38

(00) (26.3) (34.2) (28.9) (10.5) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 0 36 41 14 91

(00) (0.0) (39.6) (45.1) (15.4) (100.0)

Total 00 11 71 89 23 194

(00) (5.7) (36.6) (45.9) (11.9) (100.0)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is 0.004 and is significant at 5% level.

It is observed from the tables 6.16 and 6.17 that the Traffic and

Mechanical department employees are dissatisfied with the opportunity to

give suggestions and the acceptance of their suggestions for decision making.

However, Commercial department employees get more opportunities to give

suggestions and most of their suggestions are implemented. This may be due

to the fact that suggestions given by Traffic and Mechanical departments are

of technical nature, involving feasibility study and financial commitment.

Chapter 6


6.6.5 Punitive Action

It is evident from the table that majority of employees (67.7%) of all

the three departments are of the same opinion that punitive action is taken

against any lapse in duty, which may be safety violation, loss of revenue or

any other reason. The employees of Traffic department are penalized for

safety violation and for other reasons since they are dealing with costly

rolling stock and multi-farious duties. Since the employees of Commercial

department are dealing with various types of earnings, they are exposed to

penal action on account of revenue loss. However, the employees of

Mechanical department (82.8%) are subject to punitive action for all the

above reasons due to their nature of duty and limited manpower.

Table 6.18: Reasons for Punitive Action

Departments Safety violation Loss of revenue Other reason All of these Total

Traffic 18 2 14 34 68

(26.5) (2.9) (20.6) (50.0) (100.0)


(21.4) (17.9) (.0) (60.7) (100.0)


(7.5) (2.2) (7.5) (82.8) (100.0)

Total 31 9 21 128 189

(16.4) (4.8) (11.1) (67.7) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 4 is 0.001 and is significant at 5% level

6.6.6 Dealing with the Fury of Passengers

Majority of the operating staff are frontline employees and they have

to deal with the problems of passengers. In this context, the study also

considers whether employees face the fury of passengers, while dealing with

their problems.



Table 6.19: Facing the Fury of Passengers


Traffic 63 6 69

(91.3) (8.7) (100.0)

Commercial 32 6 38

(84.2) (15.8) (100.0)

Mechanical 55 32 87

(63.2) (36.8) (100.0)

Total 150 44 194

(77.3) (22.7) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 2 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level

It is clear from the table that 77.3 per cent of the total employees are facing the fury of passengers. The worst affected are the employees of Traffic department (91.3%), compared to the employees of Commercial department with 84.2 per cent and that of Mechanical department with 63.2 per cent. As Mechanical staff do not have much contact with the passengers, their percentage is slightly lower than that of other departments. Chi-square value shows that there is significant difference in their opinion among employees in facing the fury of passengers.

As majority of employees in the Traffic and Commercial department are facing the fury of passengers, the study attempts to find out whether it is physical assault or verbal abuse.

6.6.6 A. Physical Assault

It is learnt from the table that 55.9 per cent of the employees rarely face physical assault from the passengers and 41.2 percent opined that they never face it. This is true in respect of all the three departments. As the employees of Traffic department directly deal with the passengers they are targeted for physical assault rarely.

Chapter 6


Table 6.20: Facing Physical Assault

Departments Frequently Occasionally Rarely Very rarely Never Total

Traffic 00 0 30 00 18 48

(00) (0.0) (62.5) (00) (37.5) (100.0)

Commercial 00 1 11 00 9 21

(00) (4.8) (52.4) (00) (42.9) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 3 35 00 29 67

(00) (4.5) (52.2) (00) (43.3) (100.0)

Total 00 4 76 00 56 136

(00) (2.9) (55.9) (00) (41.2) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degree of freedom 2 is 0.687and is not significant at 5% level

6.6.6. B. Verbal Abuse

It is observed from the table that all the employees of the Traffic

department face verbal abuse from the passengers, rarely or occasionally. As the

Commercial department employees comprise of TTEs and CCs, who have close

contact with the passengers, they frequently face verbal abuse (43.5%) compared

to employees of other departments. As the employees of Mechanical department

do not have much contact with the passengers, they never face verbal abuse

(22.5%).

Table 6.21: Facing Verbal Abuse

Departments Frequently Occasionally Rarely Very rarely Never Total

Traffic 6 28 28 00 0 62

(9.7) (45.1) (45.2) (00) (.0) (100.0)


(43.5) (30.4) (21.7) (00) (4.3) (100.0)

Mechanical 2 15 38 00 16 71

(2.8) (21.1) (53.5) (00) (22.5) (100.0)

Total 18 50 71 00 17 156

(11.5) (32.1) (45.5) (00) (10.9) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with a degrees of freedom 4 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.



6.6.6. C. Response of Superiors

When employees face the fury of passengers, the attitude of superiors

will have an impact on their satisfaction and subjected to further analysis.

Table 6.22: Response of Superiors

Departments Immediate response by

RPF/GRP protection

Moral support

Measure to avoid the occurrence

Poor response Total

Traffic 19 2 13 32 66

(28.8) (3.0) (19.7) (48.5) (100.0)


(8.3) (30.6) (8.3) (52.8) (100.0)


(11.8) (23.5) (21.2) (43.5) (100.0)

Total 32 33 34 88 187

(17.1) (17.6) (18.2) (47.1) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total. Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.073and is not significant at 5% level

It is learnt from the table that on an average 43 to 53 per cent of

employees express their view that response from superiors is poor when they

face the fury of passengers. Employees of Traffic department feel better in

getting immediate response by RPF. It is seriously noted that Traffic and

Mechanical department employees get remedial measures when there is a

dire need for it. It is observed that it is the lowest in Commercial department,

though it is urgently warranted there.

When the employees do not get moral support from the superiors and

they are forced to work under worse working conditions, they are put under

stress. Stress is an independent variable influencing employee satisfaction and

performance. Stress means an individual’s reaction to a disturbing factor in the

environment. Stressors generate from individual, group or organizational

sources. The causes of organizational stress are lack of better working

Chapter 6


conditions, insecurity of work, work overload, excessive rules and lack of

participation in decision making. Due to the innovative strategies to reduce the

cost and increase revenue, operating employees are overloaded with work and it

might lead to stress. More number of level crossing gates also put immense

psychological pressure and stress on station masters and loco pilots.

Stress has serious impact on health and work performance. High stress

is associated with diabetes, heart diseases, increased blood pressure and ulcer.

Stress can cause depression, absenteeism and reduced job satisfaction.

Moderate level of stress increases the ability of individuals to react and

perform better. As stress is linked to coronary heart diseases, a reduction in

stress is expected to improve the longevity of employees. Though stress is

inevitable in life, it can be minimized.

6.7 Turnaround Related Factors

Turnaround related factors include occurrence of turnaround in SR,

reasons, effect and result of turnaround, and also to see employees’

perception on safety.

6.7.1 Occurrence of Turnaround

Table 6.23: Occurrence of Turnaround


Traffic 53 16 69 (76.8) (23.2) (100.0)

Commercial 35 3 38

(92.1) (7.9) (100.0) Mechanical

55 32 87 (63.2) (36.8) (100.0)

Total 143 51 194

(73.7) (26.3) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 2 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.



Majority (73.7%) employees of the three departments agree that there

occurred a turnaround in SR. Employees of the Commercial department

(92.1%) strongly feel that there occurred a turnaround, since they handle the

revenue earnings. Compared to other departments, 36.8 per cent of the

employees of Mechanical department disagree on the occurrence of

turnaround.

6.7.2 Reasons and Impact of Turnaround

Reasons of turnaround may be at the cost of overburdening

employees, boom in economy, the then Minister’s leadership, cost reduction

strategies and change in accounting practices. The impact of turnaround

includes increased workload, reduction in employees’ strength, increased

stress and health hazards.

The perceptions of employees regarding reasons and impact of

turnaround are studied using ranking method. Employees were asked to rank

their opinion and the scores are assigned as 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively for 1st,

2nd, 3rd and 4th rank. These scores are summated and averaged and final

ranking of the factors is exhibited in table 6.24.

Chapter 6


Table 6.24: Perception of Employees Regarding Turnaround

Department Traffic Commercial Mechanical Reasons for turnaround Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank At the cost of overburdening employees 3.15 1 3.37 1 2.85 1

Boom in economy 3.00 2 3.19 2 2.78 2

Leadership and strategies 1.46 4 1.48 4 1.05 4

Changes in accounting practices 1.97 3 1.81 3 2.33 3

Impact of turnaround: a) Increased workload

Increased traffic 3.25 1 3.02 1 3.28 2

Extended duty hours 2.58 2 2.22 3 3.45 1

Safety measures 1.38 4 1.21 4 1.03 4

New strategies 2.14 3 2.42 2 1.96 3

b) Reduction in employees’ strength

Advancement in IT and Communication 2.43 3 2.29 3 1.84 4

Unfilled vacancies 3.68 1 4.00 1 3.93 1

Out sourcing 2.71 2 2.86 2 3.00 2

Modernization of equipments and assets 2.00 4 1.71 4 2.00 3

c) Cause for risk and stress Lack of proper rest and leave 3.60 1 3.70 1 3.88 1

Number of night duties 3.44 2 3.33 2 3.21 2

Lack of supervision 1.87 4 1.67 4 1.65 4

Reluctance to adopt modern technology in

LC gates 2.62 3 2.50 3 3.07 3

d) Reason for health hazards Additional work load in relation to new

strategies 2.77 2 2.51 2 2.24 3

Usual nature of job 2.41 3 2.29 3 3.58 1

Risk and stress 2.80 1 2.84 1 3.19 2

Lack of basic amenities at work place 2.15 4 2.00 4 1.92 4

Source: Primary data.

It is learnt from the table that the employees belonging to all the three



departments are of the opinion that the turnaround was occurred at the cost of

over burdening employees and with the boom in economy. They ranked third for

changes in accounting policies and the last preference is given to leadership and

strategies. This shows that all the employees are of the opinion that turnaround

happened in railway not because of the Minister’s leadership and strategies.

With regard to the impact of turnaround, increase in workload is

mainly due to the increase in traffic as far as Traffic and Commercial

departments are concerned. However, according to the employees of

Mechanical department, increase in workload is mainly due to the extended

duty hours followed by increase in traffic. All the three categories of

employees have equal opinion that increase in safety measures (manning of

level crossings etc.) has the least effect in increase in work load.

As far as reduction in employees’ strength is concerned, all the

employees have ranked in the order that it is due to unfilled vacancies,

outsourcing and advancement of IT and communication and modernization of

equipments. However, in case of Mechanical department, the third rank is

given to modernization of equipments.

With regard to the reason for risk and stress, the employees

belonging to the three departments have opined that lack of proper rest and

leave is the major reason for risk and stress, followed by more number of

night duties and reluctance to adopt modern technology in LC gates. All the

employees have given last rank for lack of supervision.

Since the number of supernumerary posts due to health hazards is on the

increase every year, the study attempts to find the employees’ perception

regarding the reason for health hazards. The employees of Traffic and

Commercial departments are of the opinion that the reasons for health hazards is

Chapter 6


mainly due to risk and stress followed by additional workload, usual nature of

job and lack of amenities at work place. The employees of Mechanical

department have ranked it differently and according to them health hazards are

due to the usual nature of the job followed by risk and stress, additional

workload due to new strategies and lack of amenities at work place.

6.7.3 Impact of Turnaround on Safety

Employees are the persons who actually deliver service to passengers

and the study attempts to find whether safety in train operation is badly

affected with the new strategies like increase in axle load, reduction in

wagon turnaround, increase in frequency of trains, number of coaches and

extension of services.

Table shows that 93.6 per cent of the total employees opined that

safety is affected. Almost all the employees of Mechanical (98.8%) and

Commercial (97.3%) departments perceived that safety is badly affected due

to turnaround strategies.

Table 6.25: Impact of Turnaround on Safety


Traffic 58 10 68

(85.3) (14.7) (100.0)

Commercial 36 1 37

(97.3) (2.7) (100.0)

Mechanical 82 1 83

(98.8) (1.2) (100.0)

Total 176 12 188

(93.6) (6.4) (100.0) Source: Primary data Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 1 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.

As most of the employees are of the opinion that safety is affected, the study also attempts to know in what respect safety is affected.



Table 6.26: Perception on Affecting Safety

Safety is affected in :- Traffic Commercial Mechanical

Mean Rank Mean Rank Mean Rank Track maintenance 2.62 3 2.67 3 2.59 2

Rolling stock maintenance 2.88 2 2.86 2 2.98 1

Operating staff work 3.30 1 3.47 1 2.45 3

Others 1.00 4 1.00 4 1.89 4

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total.

Traffic and Commercial department employees have the same opinion

that safety is highly affected in operating staff work, followed by rolling stock

maintenance, and track maintenance. The employees of Mechanical department

have ranked first to rolling stock maintenance and second to track maintenance

as they are actually engaged in running the trains. It is observed that due to

turnaround measures, maintenance work is not being properly carried out.

6.7.4 Outcome (Result) of Turnaround

The study also attempts to find whether turnaround resulted in

increase in bonus and incentives, revenue earnings, improvement in service

quality, line capacity and accidents.

6.7.4. A. Increase in Bonus and Incentives

Out of the total 184 employees responded, 83.1 per cent of the

employees disagree that turnaround resulted in increase in bonus and

incentives and 9.8 per cent have expressed no opinion in this respect. In the

Traffic department (89.2%) and in the Mechanical department (86.7%),

employees disagree that it resulted in increase in bonus and incentives. Not

even a single employee strongly agrees that it resulted in bonus and

incentives. However, 27.8 per cent of the employees of Commercial

department agree that it resulted in increase in bonus and incentives and 63.9

Chapter 6


per cent of employees disagree in this respect. This may be due to the fact

that they might have received any incentive based on the increase in earnings.

Table 6.27: Perception on Increase in Bonus and Incentives

Departments Strongly agree Agree No

opinion Disagree Strongly disagree Total

Traffic 00 2 5 52 6 65 (00) (3.1) (7.7) (80.0) (9.2) (100.0)

Commercial 00 10 3 20 3 36 (00) (27.8) (8.3) (55.6) (8.3) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 1 10 51 21 83 (00) (1.2) (12.0) (61.4) (25.3) (100.0)

Total 00 13 18 123 30 184 (00) (7.1) (9.8) (66.8) (16.3) (100.0)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.034 and is significant at 5% level.

6.7.4. B. Increased Revenue Earnings

Turnaround here means financial turnaround and the study attempts to

find whether it increased revenue earnings. Only 10.9 per cent have disagreed

to the statement that turnaround resulted in revenue increase.

Table 6.28: Perception on Increase in Revenue

Departments Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly

disagree Total

Traffic 2 48 1 14 00 65

(3.1) (73.8) (1.5) (21.5) (00) (100.0)


(2.8) (97.2) (0.0) (0.0) (00) (100.0)

Mechanical 4 64 9 6 00 83

(4.8) (77.1) (10.8) (7.2) (00) (100.0)

Total 7 147 10 20 00 184

(3.8) (79.9) (5.4) (10.9) (00) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 2 is 0.228 and is not significant at 5% level.

All the employees of Commercial department, who are actually

handling the revenue, have agreed that it resulted in revenue increase. The



disagreement is higher in respect of employees of Traffic department (21.5%)

compared to other departments.

6.7.4. C. Increased Repairs and Maintenance

It is evident from the table that 31.5 per cent expressed no opinion as

the employees under study are not fully aware of the amount of repairs and

maintenance. Not even a single employee strongly agrees that it resulted in

increase in repairs.

Table 6.29: Perception on Increase in Repairs and Maintenance

Departments Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly

disagree Total

Traffic 00 26 27 11 1 65

(00) (40.0) (41.5) (16.9) (1.5) (100.0)


(00) (69.7) (15.2) (12.1) (3.0) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 39 25 15 4 83

(00) (47.0) (30.1) (18.1) (4.8) (100.0)

Total 00 88 57 30 6 181

(00) (48.6) (31.5) (16.6) (3.3) (100.0)

Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.116 and is not significant at 5% level.

48.6 per cent of the total employees agree to the statement that

turnaround resulted in increase in repairs and maintenance. In Traffic

department, 40 per cent and in Commercial department, 69.7 per cent agree

that turnaround resulted in increase in repairs. In Traffic department, 41.5

per cent and in Mechanical department, 30.1 per cent have expressed no

opinion in this regard.

Chapter 6


6.7.4. D. Improvement in Quality of Service

Table 6.30: Perception Regarding Improvement in Service Quality

Department Strongly agree Agree No opinion Disagree Strongly

disagree Total

Traffic 00 38 10 17 00 65

(00) (58.5) (15.4) (26.2) (00) (100.0)

Commercial 00 29 2 5 00 36

(00) (80.6) (5.6) (13.9) (00) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 29 12 42 00 83

(00) (34.9) (14.5) (50.6) (00) (100.0)

Total 00 96 24 64 00 184

(00) (52.2) (13.0) (34.8) (00) (100.0)


Table 6.30 shows that 52.2 per cent of the total employees feel that

turnaround resulted in improvement of service quality. More than 80 per cent

of the employees of Commercial department feel that turnaround resulted in

improvement in service quality. More that 50 per cent of the employees in

Mechanical department (50.6%) have stated that there is no improvement in

quality of service. In Traffic department, 15.4 per cent of employees have no

opinion and 55.4 percent agreed that turnaround resulted in increase of

service quality. It is amazing to note that not even a single employee strongly

agrees that there is improvement in service quality.

6.7.4. E. Increase in Line Capacity

Increase in number of trains and frequency of trains require increase in

line capacity and hence it is also considered.



Table 6.31: Perception Regarding Increase in Line Capacity



Traffic 00 31 15 6 4 56

(00) (55.4) (26.8) (10.7) (7.1) (100.0)


(00) (60.0) (25.7) (5.7) (8.6) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 58 14 1 8 81

(00) (71.6) (17.3) (1.2) (9.9) (100.0)

Total 00 110 38 9 15 172

(00) (64.0) (22.1) (5.2) (8.7) (100.0)


Majority of the employees (64%) do agree that turnaround resulted in

increase in line capacity, 22.1 per cent have no opinion and 13.9 per cent

disagree to the statement. 71.6 per cent of the employees of Mechanical

department opined that turnaround resulted in increase of line capacity, since

they are actually engaged in running of trains.

6.7.4. F. Improvement in Punctuality of Trains

Punctuality of trains depends on several factors in addition to the

involvement of these three departments. Therefore, 40-50 per cent of the total

employees have expressed no opinion about the improvement in punctuality

of trains, 32.1 per cent have agreed that it resulted in improvement in

punctuality and 23 per cent have disagreed with the statement. However, in

Commercial department, 51.4 per cent of the employees agree that

turnaround resulted in increase of punctuality.

Chapter 6


Table 6.32: Perception Regarding Improvement in Punctuality of Trains



Traffic 0 18 22 16 00 56

(.0) (32.1) (39.3) (28.6) (00) (100.0)

Commercial 0 18 14 3 00 35

(.0) (51.4) (40.0) (8.6) (00) (100.0)

Mechanical 2 18 42 21 00 83

(2.4) (21.7) (50.6) (25.3) (00) (100.0)

Total 2 54 78 40 00 174

(1.1) (31.0) (44.8) (23.0) (00) (100.0)


6.8 Passenger Amenities and Co-Operation of Passengers with

Employees

6.8.1. Basic Amenities

The basic passenger amenities at stations and trains will also affect the

level of satisfaction of employees and the Railway has taken initiatives to

improve such amenities during the turnaround period.

Table 6.33: Perception on basic passenger amenities at stations/trains


Traffic 1 4 19 37 8 69

(1.4) (5.8) (27.5) (53.6) (11.6) (100.0)


(2.6) (28.9) (23.7) (39.5) (5.3) (100.0)

Mechanical 0 14 37 32 4 87

(.0) (16.1) (42.5) (36.8) (4.6) (100.0)

Total 2 29 65 84 14 194

(1.0) (14.9) (33.6) (43.3) (7.2) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is 0.060 and is not significant at 5% level.



It is evident from the table that 77 per cent of the total employees have expressed their view that basic passenger amenities in trains and stations as good and satisfactory and 14.9 per cent as very good. This holds true in all Mechanical and Commercial departments. 11.6 per cent of employees of traffic department rated it as poor.

6.8.2 Modern Amenities

Though many modern amenities are provided to passengers, the study takes into account only ‘Touch screen facility’ and ‘139 telephone enquiry’ as they are beneficial both to the employees and passengers.

6.8.2. A. Touch Screen Facility

Touch screen facility is provided in station platforms to provide information regarding late running of trains, coach position, availability of seats etc. Table 6.35 indicates that 40.5 per cent of the total employees feel good and very good and 40 per cent as satisfactory with the touch screen facility. At the same time 20 per cent of the employees rated as poor.

Table 6.34: Perception on Touch Screen Facility


Traffic 00 3 16 34 15 68

(00) (4.4) (23.5) (50.0) (22.1) (100.0)

Commercial 00 10 15 8 4 37

(00) (27.0) (40.5) (21.6) (10.8) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 1 33 34 20 88

(00) (1.1) (37.5) (38.6) (22.7) (100.0)

Total 00 14 64 76 39 193

(00) (7.3) (33.2) (39.4) (20.2) (100.0)


Chapter 6


6.8.2. B. Efficiency of Telephone Enquiry 139

For the convenience of passengers, a nation-wide telephone enquiry

system ‘139’ has been implemented by the Railway. This has benefitted the

employees also. Hence, the study attempts to find out the efficiency of the system.

Table 6.35: Perception on Telephone Enquiry 139


Traffic 00 2 22 18 27 69

(00) (2.9) (31.9) (26.1) (39.1) (100.0)


(00) (13.2) (50.0) (15.7) (21.1) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 2 47 5 33 87

(00) (2.3) (54.1) (5.7) (37.9) (100.0)

Total 00 9 88 29 68 194

(00) (4.6) (45.4) (14.9) (35.1) (100.0)


It is clear from the table that the system is not so efficient and 35.1 per

cent of the total employees perceived it as poor, 45.4 per cent as good and

14.9 per cent as satisfactory. Comparatively, Commercial (63.2%) and

Mechanical department (56.3%) employees are more satisfied with the

facility than the employees of Traffic department (34.8%). In both the

modern amenities not even a single employee has rated it as excellent.

6.8.3 Ticket Fare for all Classes

During the turnaround period, ticket fare for all the classes reduced

and the study attempts to look into employees’ perception in this regard.



Table 6.36: Perception on Ticket Fare for all Class of Travel

Departments Very high High Moderate Low Very low Total

Traffic 3 00 13 34 19 69

(4.3) (00) (18.8) (49.3) (27.5) (100.0)


(10.5) (00) (2.6) (73.7) (13.2) (100.0)

Mechanical 0 00 2 53 32 87

(0) (00) (2.3) (60.9) (36.8) (100.0)

Total 7 00 16 115 56 194

(3.6) (00) (8.2) (59.3) (28.9) (100.0)


It is clear from the table that 88 per cent of the total employees have

expressed their opinion as low or very low. Among the employees of Traffic

Department, (76.8%) and Commercial department (86.9 %), the same trend is

found. In Mechanical department, almost all the employees are of the

opinion that it is low or very low.

6.8.4 Number of Trains in the Section

Number of trains in the section based on line capacity is denoted by the

term ‘density’. Traffic and Commercial department employees are more aware

of the number of trains run in the section, compared to Mechanical department.

Therefore, majority of employees of traffic (52.6%) and commercial

departments (75%) have expressed their opinion as high and very high.

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Table 6.37: Perception on Number of Trains in the Section

Departments Very high High Moderate Low Very low Total

Traffic 8 22 15 12 00 57

(14.0) (38.6) (26.3) (21.1) (00) (100.0)


(16.7) (58.3) (19.4) (5.6) (00) (100.0)

Mechanical 7 10 64 6 00 87

(8.0) (11.5) (73.6) (6.9) (00) (100.0)

Total 21 53 86 20 00 180

(11.7) (29.4) (47.8) (11.1) (00) (100.0) Source: Primary data. Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total Chi-Square value with degrees of freedom 4 is <0.001 and is significant at 5% level.

In Mechanical department, 74 per cent of the employees feel it as

moderate and 21 per cent of the Traffic department rated it as low.

6.8.5 Observing Cleanliness by Passengers

Cleanliness within the working environment is an important factor

determining the level of satisfaction. Both employees and passengers have

equal responsibility in maintaining cleanliness. Though employees are taking

many measures to keep the working environment clean, passengers also have

the moral responsibility to maintain cleanliness. It is evident that 70 per cent

of the total employees viewed that maintaining cleanliness by passengers as

poor and the rest 30 per cent rated as either good or satisfactory.

Table 6.38: Perception on Keeping Cleanliness by Passengers


Traffic 00 00 2 15 42 59

(00) (00) (3.4) (25.4) (71.2) (100.0)

Commercial 00 00 9 7 17 33 (00) (00) (27.3) (21.2) (51.5) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 00 1 20 67 88 (00) (00) (1.1) (22.7) (76.1) (100.0)

Total 00 00 12 42 126 180 (00) (00) (6.7) (23.3) (70.0) (100.0)

Source: Primary data Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total



6.8.6. Co-operation from Passengers

For efficient and proper discharge of duties, co-operation from

passengers is highly required. This, in turn affects the level of satisfaction of

employees.

Table.6.39: Perception on Co-operation from Passengers


Traffic 00 10 3 25 24 62

(00) (16.1) (4.8) (40.3) (38.8) (100.0)

Commercial 00 10 4 11 12 37

(00) (27.1) (10.8) (29.7) (32.4) (100.0)

Mechanical 00 1 0 53 34 88

(00) (1.1) (.0) (60.3) (38.6) (100.0)

Total 00 21 7 89 70 187

(00) (11.2) (3.7) (47.6) (37.5) (100.0)

Source: Primary data Note: Figures in parentheses represent percentages to total

Regarding co-operation from passengers, 37.5 per cent of the total

employees viewed as poor and 62.5 per cent have the opinion as very good,

good or satisfactory. Commercial department employees get very good

(27.1%) co-operation from passengers compared to other departments. 60.3

per cent of the employees in Mechanical department feel it as satisfactory and

39 per cent rated as poor.

6.9 Overall Satisfaction of Employees

To find out the overall level of satisfaction, the Mean Percentage

Score is found out for each of the variable using the formula:

MPS⎛ ⎞=⎜ ⎟

⎝ ⎠

Mean score of the variable×100Maximum possible score

Chapter 6


And to find out the stability of the variable, the Coefficient of Variation of

each of the variable is found out.

CV⎛ ⎞=⎜ ⎟⎝ ⎠

Standard deviation of the variable×100Mean of the variable

Table 6.40: Overall Satisfaction of Employees

Maximum Mean Std. Deviation CV Mean % Score Organization environment

related 36.00 18.17 4.42 24.33 50.46

Attitude of Superiors 46.00 26.29 5.12 19.48 57.15

Turnaround related factors 149.00 59.51 23.62 39.69 39.94

Passenger Amenities and co-

operation of Passengers 47.00 23.39 6.18 26.44 49.76

Employees perception regarding attitude of superiors is having the

highest mean score with minimum standard deviation and co-efficient of

variation. The minimum Standard deviation and Co-efficient of variation

indicates that the degree of variability is the minimum. Similarly, employees’

perception regarding turnaround related factors is having the lowest mean

score with highest standard deviation. By comparing the mean percentage

score, it is found that employees are least satisfied with the turnaround related

factors, (39.94) followed by amenities and attitude of passengers (49.76),

organization environment (50.46) and most satisfied with the attitude of

superiors (57.15). The mean score is not much greater than 50 per cent in all

the factors under consideration. It means that employees in the Open line,

who are directly engaged in running of trains, are not satisfied much with the

organization environment, turnaround related strategies and co-operation of

passengers.



6.9 Inferential Analysis

Inferential analysis is done to find out if there exists any significant

difference in the perception of employees in respect of organization

environment, attitude of superiors, turnaround related factors and passenger

amenities and their attitude towards employees across divisions, departments

and also on the basis of length of service.

6.9.1 Division-wise Analysis

The employees are taken from four divisions, viz. TVC, PGT, MAS

and SA. Hence division-wise analysis is done to see whether there is any

significant difference in the perception of employees across division.

Table 6.41: Mean and Mean Percentage Score across Divisions

Division Organization environment

Attitude of Superiors

Turn Around related factors

Passenger Facility and passenger

attitude to employees

TVC Mean 17.48 25.14 62.98 23.24 Std. Deviation 5.21 5.74 23.68 6.02 Mean % Score 48.56 54.65 42.27 49.45

PGT Mean 18.12 25.30 58.20 21.86 Std. Deviation 3.57 3.75 27.29 6.11 Mean % Score 50.33 55.00 39.06 46.51

MAS Mean 18.02 29.04 58.34 25.62 Std. Deviation 4.58 5.58 17.58 6.42 Mean % Score 50.06 63.13 39.15 54.51

SA Mean 19.04 25.68 58.52 22.82 Std. Deviation 4.15 4.23 25.19 5.72 Mean % Score 52.89 55.83 39.28 48.55

TOTAL Mean 18.17 26.29 59.51 23.39 Std. Deviation 4.42 5.12 23.62 6.18 Mean % Score 50.46 57.15 39.94 49.76

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With regard to organization environment, the employees of all the

divisions, except TVC are satisfied with a mean score of more than 50 per cent.

The employees of all the four divisions are satisfied with the attitude of

superiors; particularly employees of MAS division with a mean score of 63.13

per cent, followed by SA division with 55.83 per cent, PGT with 55 per cent

and TVC division with 54.65 per cent. However, employees of all the four

divisions are least satisfied with the turnaround related factors, as the mean

percentage score is far below 50 per cent. (39.94%) In respect of passenger

amenities and attitude of passengers towards employees, employees of MAS

division only are satisfied with a mean score of 54.51 per cent.

To find out whether there exists a significant difference in the opinion of

employees of four different divisions, one-way ANOVA is done which indicates

that there is significant difference in the perception of employees across

divisions regarding attitude of superiors, (F (3,196) =7.104, P=<0.001) and

also in passenger amenities and attitude of passengers towards employees. (F

(3,196) =3.463, P= 0.017).

Therefore, it is found that there is significant difference among

employees in respect of attitude of superiors and passenger amenities and co-

operation from passengers. There is no significant difference in the opinion of

employees of four divisions under study in respect of organization culture and

turnaround related factors.

Post-hoc Tukeys analysis is done to find out which division is more

significant and it is given in table 6.42.

Table 6.42: Post-hoc Analysis

Variables/Factor *Difference group Attitude of Superiors MAS with TVC, PGT and SA Present Passenger Facility and attitude of passengers MAS with PGT



One-way ANOVA shows that there is significant difference in respect of

attitude of superiors and passenger amenities across divisions. Hence, the null

hypothesis is rejected and concluded that there is significant difference in the

opinion among employees across the selected four divisions in respect of attitude

of superiors and passenger amenities. Post-hoc analysis shows that employees of

MAS division are more satisfied with the attitude of superiors and with the

passenger amenities and co-operation of passengers with employees.

6.9.2 Department-wise Analysis

Employees under study belong to three different departments and

hence department-wise analysis is done to find out the significant difference

among the group.

Table 6.43: Mean and Mean Percentage Score across Departments

Department Organizational environment



Present Passenger amenities and

attitude of passengers

Traffic Mean 15.91 25.91 60.33 22.09 Std. Deviation 4.25 5.82 19.24 4.33 Mean % Score 44.20 56.33 40.49 46.99

Commercial Mean 19.68 29.18 64.32 27.79 Std. Deviation 4.61 6.12 20.70 6.71 Mean % Score 54.68 63.44 43.16 59.13

Mechanical Mean 19.22 25.39 56.94 22.55 Std. Deviation 3.80 3.50 27.28 6.38 Mean % Score 53.38 55.19 38.21 47.98

Total Mean 18.17 26.29 59.51 23.39 Std. Deviation 4.42 5.12 23.62 6.18 Mean % Score 50.46 57.15 39.94 49.76

Table shows that employees of Commercial department are more

satisfied with the organizational environment, (54.68%) attitude of superiors

(63.44%) and also with the passenger amenities and co-operation towards

Chapter 6


employees (59.13%). The highly dissatisfied category is Traffic department.

They are satisfied only with the attitude of superiors (56.33%). All the three

department employees are satisfied with the attitude of superiors with a mean

score of 57.15 per cent and are dissatisfied with the turnaround related factors

with a mean score of 39.94 per cent.

One-way ANOVA shows that there is significant difference in the

opinion of employees in respect of organizational environment, (F (2,197)

=15.895, P=<0.001) (0.001) attitude of superiors (F (2,197) =8.263,

P=<0.001) and passenger amenities and passenger attitude to employees (F

(2,197) =13.522, P=<0.001). However, in respect of turnaround related

factors, there is no difference in the perception of employees and all the

employees are dissatisfied.

Post-hoc Tukeys analysis is done to find out whichever department is

more significant and it reveals that the difference is between Commercial

with Traffic and Mechanical.

Table 6.44: Post Hoc Analysis

Variables/Factor *Difference group Organization environment related Commercial with Traffic and Mechanical

Attitude of Superiors Commercial with traffic and Mechanical.

Passenger facility and attitude of passengers Commercial with traffic and Mechanical.

Hence, the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the

perception of employees across departments is rejected and concluded that

there is significant difference in the opinion among employees across the

three departments in respect of organization environment, attitude of

superiors and co-operation from passengers. Post-hoc analysis shows that

employees of Commercial department are more satisfied with the



organization environment, attitude of superiors and with the passenger

amenities and co-operation from passengers.

6.9.3 Length of Service

Employees under study differ in their years of service and the study

attempts to find out whether their opinion differs in respect of selected

variables.

Table 6.45: Mean and Mean Percentage Score across Length of Service

Length of service Organization environment

related



Passenger amenities and

attitude of passengers

Less than 5 years Mean 26.00 27.00 64.00 27.00 Std. Deviation 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Mean % Score 72.22 58.70 42.95 57.45

5-9 years Mean 20.00 26.50 76.00 26.00 Std. Deviation 4.62 1.73 12.94 1.15 Mean % Score 55.56 57.61 41.01 55.32



20 and above Mean 17.22 26.73 58.30 22.86 Std. Deviation 3.15 5.48 24.81 7.41 Mean % Score 47.83 58.11 39.13 48.63

Total Mean 18.17 26.29 59.51 23.39 Std. Deviation 4.42 5.12 23.62 6.18 Mean % Score 50.46 57.15 39.94 49.76

All the employees are satisfied with the attitude of superiors, (57.15%).

Employees with less than 10 years of experience, constituting less than 10 per

cent of the total, are more satisfied with organization culture, attitude of

superiors and passenger amenities, compared to the other groups. All the

Chapter 6


employees are dissatisfied with the turnaround related factors (39.94%) and the

employees with more than fifteen years of experience, who constitute nearly 70

per cent of the total employees, are the least satisfied group (33.59%)

To find out whether the difference is significant, one-way ANOVA is

done and found that there is significant difference among employees with

different years of service in the organization environment related factors

only. (F (4,195) =34.661, P=<0.001) Post Hoc test reveals that in respect of

organization environment, employees with less than five years of service are

more satisfied compared to the employees with more than 10 years of service.

Hence, the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the

perception of employees with different years of service is rejected and

concluded that there is significant differences in the opinion among employees

with different length of service in respect of organization environment and

employees with less than five years of service are more satisfied with the

organization environment.

6.10 Structural Equation Model for Satisfaction of Employees

Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used to measure the satisfaction

level of employees on organizational environment, attitude of superiors,

turnaround related factors and also with passenger amenities and cooperation

with employees. Employees’ satisfaction is evaluated using these variables

and to analyze in which factor employees are more satisfied, Confirmatory

factor analysis is used.

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), also known as latent variable

analysis is a development from multiple regression analysis to combine a series

of multiple regression equations within one structural model. SEM is a

confirmatory approach and is used to test theory rather than to develop theory.



Although SEM provides a number of advantages over other statistical

approaches there are also limitations associated with its use. The normed chi-

square Statistics is used to overcome some of the concerns over the chi-square

statistic and is calculated as chi-square statistic divided by the degrees of

freedom. Here, a five point scale is used for the four variables under study.

These choices are given values as 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 for the five point scale positive

questions. The calculation of the structural equation modelling and the Split half

reliability is measured using Cronbach’s alpha. It is found that the reliability for

the satisfaction level of the 200 respondents is found to be 0.785. Initially input

model was developed and was tested and verified by using the indices χ2,

normed χ2, GFI, AGFI, NFI, TLI, CFI, RMR, and RMSEA.

Hypothesized model /Input model

Initially an input model was developed by using AMOS-7 graphics.

The rectangle represents observed factors, ovals in the diagram represents

unobserved variable, and here it is Satisfaction. The curved double headed

arrows represent correlations or co-variances among the unobserved variables

and the straight headed arrows represent the factor loadings of the observed

variables. The small circles with arrows pointing from the circles to the

observed variables represent errors /unique factors, which are also known as,

Squared Multiple Correlation of the Standard Error. This was tested and

verified by using the indices χ2, normed χ2, GFI, AGFI, NFI, TLI, CFI, RMR,

and RMSEA. (Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index

(AGFI), Root Mean Square Residual (RMR) and the Root Mean Square of

Approximation (RMSEA). The incremental fit measures include the normed

fit index (NFI) and the comparative fit index (CFI). Using the regression

weight, the level of satisfaction of each of the variables is ranked.

Chapter 6


Table 6.46: Indices of Variables

χ2 DF P Normed χ2 GFI AGFI NFI TLI CFI RMR RMSEA

5.375 2 .068 2.688 .987 .935 .923 .842 .947 4.187 0.092

OER-Organization Environment Related AS-Attitude of Superiors TRF-Turnaround related Factors PF- Passenger amenity and co-operation of passengers

Table 6.47: Mean and Regression Weights

Mean Std. Deviation

Standardized Regression Weights

Organization environment related 18.16 4.42 .378

Attitude of Superiors 26.29 5.12 .423

Turn Around related factors 59.51 23.61 .322

Passenger amenity and co-operation of

passengers 23.38 6.18 .844



From the table it is observed that the employees in general are

satisfied only with Passenger amenities and cooperation of passengers, with a

standard regression weight of 0.844 and highly dissatisfied with turnaround

related factors with a standard regression weight of 0.322, organization

culture related factors with 0.378 and attitude of superiors with 0.423

regression weights.

Summary

Dedicated and loyal employees are the assets of any organization and

they expect job security, work satisfaction and adequate financial rewards. If

they are properly managed and taken care of by fulfilling their needs,

organizations are likely to grow fast. The efficiency of an organization

depends up on the performance of the employees, which in turn, depends

upon the satisfaction of employees. Job performance is based on morale and

motivation to work. A satisfied worker will certainly help in creating a good

morale, but that alone may not lead to high productivity unless it is

accompanied by good motivation. This may be evaluated only on the

employees’ attitude towards the objectives of the organization. The needs of

the employees are to be studied and analyzed by the management for the

purpose of achieving the organizational objectives.

The study attempts to find out whether employees belonging to

Traffic, Commercial and Mechanical departments who are engaged in

running of trains are satisfied with the organization environment, attitude of

superiors, turnaround related factors and also with the passenger amenities in

stations/trains and their attitude towards employees.

Though SR administration is not lagging behind in providing staff

welfare schemes, the employees are not fully satisfied with these. The

Chapter 6


turnaround strategies have overburdened them. The organizational culture

and attitude of the superiors have not changed and the employees expect a

change in this. The open line staff has a different work environment and this

is not taken into consideration in their welfare schemes.

Division-wise, department-wise and period of service analysis reveals

that employees are highly dissatisfied with the turnaround related factors and

according to their opinion, turnaround was occurred in railway by

overburdening them with the strategies. However, they opined that passenger

amenities of SR have improved considerably. Inferential analysis shows that

employees are satisfied with the organization environment and attitude of

superiors and dissatisfied with the turnaround related factors. CFA analysis

also shows that employees are highly dissatisfied with the turnaround related

factors.

The man behind the machines is to be made the best through better

human resource methods. In service turnarounds, communication and

participation make the people feel committed to actions they choose.

Employees’ morale and motivation is to be increased. Without loyal

employees, an organization cannot develop and survive. Improved quality of

staff with broad vision will not only benefit railway’s finance, it can benefit

the staff by way of better quality of living also. That should be encouraged in

Railway to sustain this turnaround in future.

6.1 introduction -...

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