Job Stress among School Administrators and Teachers in Nigerian Secondary Schools and Technical Colleges (Published)
The paper examines stress, job or vocational and workplace stress. It views stress as the responses the body makes while striving to maintain equilibrium and deal with the demands of life. It is a psycho-physiological process which results from the interaction of the individual with the environment and results in disturbances caused to the physiological, psychological and social systems. Job or occupational stress refers to the mental and physical condition which affects an individual’s productivity at the workplace, as well as his effectiveness, personal health and quality of work. Role ambiguity, poor relations with boss, work overload, thwarted ambition and job insecurity as workplace sources of stress have been identified. Where teachers and school heads are under stress, there will be poor teaching quality, low students’ satisfaction and low turnover on the overall performance. The paper holds that teachers’ lives are often gravely affected by stress which leads to physical ill-health such as headache, stomach upset, aches and pains. Severe and unchecked stress leads to severe ill conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and heart disease. In critical cases, stress can lead to death. The paper identifies wrong ways to deal with stress to include smoking, using pills or drugs to relax, too much drinking of alcohol and other intoxicating drinks, filling up every minute of the day with activities in order to avoid problems, oversleeping, and transferring one’s stressful condition on others. Appropriate strategies to deal with stress, especially for teachers and school heads include regular medical checkups, exercises like jogging, bicycling and muscle relaxation. In addition, proper time management, having a positive outlook on life and bothering less about things one has control over go a long way in assisting teachers and school heads to deal with stress.
Keywords: Equilibrium, Examines Stress, Job Stress, Management, Workplace Stress