A look at occupational stress in higher education through a transactional lens: insights from female academics in Qatar

Abstract

This study explores the occupational stress experienced by female academics in Qatar’s higher education sector, framed through a transactional stress perspective. By examining the intersection of socio-cultural gender expectations and professional demands unique to academia, the study provides insights into how stress manifests and is managed within this field. Data from 15 in-depth semi-structured interviews with female academics reveals critical stressors and coping mechanisms. Findings highlight two main dimensions of stress–work overload and work-home conflict–intensified by societal expectations and compounded by the unique pressures of academia. Six key moderators–perceived organisation support, organisational skills, experience, work passion, support systems, and personality traits–shape stress perception and coping in the academic context. This research extends transactional stress theory by incorporating socio-cultural and gender-specific dynamics, shedding light on how female academics in the Middle East experience stress and offers a framework of how cultural dynamics influence occupational stress in academia.