Analyzing Stress Coping Strategies and Approaches of School Teachers

Abstract

With increasing demands of the job market, occupational stress is
becoming a matter of great concern for both employers and employees
across the occupations. Individuals try different coping strategies and
approaches to keep this stress at a manageable level. This study
examined the stress coping strategies and approaches used by the school
teachers in respect to their perceived level of stress. A self-developed
questionnaire based on COPE inventory was used to conduct this surveybased exploratory study. A sample of 400 school teachers with diverse
backgrounds working in both public and private sectors was randomly
selected from two district of Punjab. Mean, percentage and t-test were
applied to analyze the data. The study found that 60% of the teachers
perceived high or very high level of stress. Female teachers reported
more stress than male teachers. ‘Turning to religion’, ‘positive
reinterpretation’ and ‘planning’ to actively solve the problem are the
mostly used coping strategies. The majority of respondents used
problem-oriented and emotion-oriented strategies. Further, it was found
that as the level of stress increased, teachers tend towards use of problem
and emotion-oriented approaches than avoidance and social-support
approaches.