Assessment of Occupation Related Stress among Male and Female Teachers

Background: Stress experienced by teachers is a subject of intense interest in recent years. Various factors have been identified linked with teacher’s occupational stress. The job is very demanding in that it has hardly any end. Quite often teachers must take their work home overnight or on the weekends in order to be prepared for the next class section. The present study was planned to assess the occupation related stress among male and female teachers. Materials and methods: The sample selected for the study consisted of 30 teachers teaching in a senior secondary school. The number of male and female teachers was 15 each. Mean Occupational stress was calculated for each group and sub-groups and analyzed. The measurement of Occupational stress level was done using Occupational Stress Index given by Srivastava & Singh in 1981. The index is standardized and consisted of 46 items which were to be rated by the subject on a 5 point scale.  Results: The occupational stress scores for both the groups fall under the category of moderate stress which ranges from score 123-155. However, mean occupational stress scores of female group (146.35+6.78) are slightly higher as compared to male group (144.25+7.82). Conclusion: Male and female teachers in senior secondary school experience moderate stress. On comparing male and female teachers, we infer that on the basis of gender there is no difference in occupational stress level.