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 survey-based 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.