Physiological Indices of Work-Related Stress Among Bank Employees in Port Harcourt, South South Nigeria

Background: Bank employees in Nigeria face sustained occupational stress driven by performance targets, long working hours, and job insecurity. Chronic work-related stress produces measurable physiological changes including elevations in blood pressure, resting heart rate, and subjective fatigue. Data characterising the physiological stress burden of Nigerian banking sector workers are limited. Objectives: This study aims to measure resting blood pressure, resting heart rate, and salivary cortisol concentration as physiological stress indices among bank employees in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and to determine associations with self-reported occupational stress scores and work schedule characteristics. Methods: Eighty full-time bank employees and forty non-banking civil servants as controls will be recruited. Blood pressure and heart rate will be measured mid-morning under standardised conditions. Unstimulated saliva will be collected for cortisol analysis by ELISA. The Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised will capture stress burden. ANCOVA adjusting for body mass index and caffeine intake will compare groups. Expected Outcomes: Bank employees are anticipated to demonstrate significantly higher cortisol concentrations, elevated blood pressure, and greater occupational stress scores compared to controls, with target-driven roles predicting the greatest physiological burden. Conclusion: Findings will support the implementation of workplace stress management programmes within the Nigerian banking sector. Keywords: occupational stress, bank employees, cortisol, blood pressure, Port Harcourt.