Analyzing Stress Coping Strategies and Approaches of School Teachers

Abstract

With increasing demands of the job market, occupational stress isbecoming a matter of great concern for both employers and employeesacross the occupations. Individuals try different coping strategies andapproaches to keep this stress at a manageable level. This studyexamined the stress coping strategies and approaches used by the schoolteachers in respect to their perceived level of stress. A self-developedquestionnaire based on COPE inventory was used to conduct this surveybasedexploratory study. A sample of 400 school teachers with diversebackgrounds working in both public and private sectors was randomlyselected from two district of Punjab. Mean, percentage and t-test wereapplied to analyze the data. The study found that 60% of the teachersperceived high or very high level of stress. Female teachers reportedmore stress than male teachers. ‘Turning to religion’, ‘positivereinterpretation’ and ‘planning’ to actively solve the problem are themostly used coping strategies. The majority of respondents usedproblem-oriented and emotion-oriented strategies. Further, it was foundthat as the level of stress increased, teachers tend towards use of problemand emotion-oriented approaches than avoidance and social-supportapproaches.