Occupational Stress Among India’s District Judges: An Exploratory Study?

The study explores occupational stress among Indian district judges based on their perceptions of its causes and symptoms. It also investigates the extent to which judges attribute illnesses suffered by themselves or their colleagues to occupational stress. A representative sample of 65 judges was drawn from more than 13 High Court jurisdictions, with 50 judges completing a self-administered questionnaire comprising 119 variables. Descriptive measures, such as frequency estimates and statistical procedures, Chi-Square and linear regression tests, were used to analyze the data. The results indicate that the judges, inter alia, perceive (a) heavy workload and lack of control over the caseload; (b) the occupational demand for continued and extensive study; (c) too much subordination to, or too much interference from, the high court; (d) apprehension of frivolous complaints to vigilance; and (e) the Bar antagonism, as key stressors. Therefore, this perception-based study identifies multiple occupational factors causing stress among district judges in India. Regression analysis also finds that the tenure of judges has no bearing on their perception of occupational stress.