Occupational Stress among Teachers in Private Senior Secondary Schools in Botswana: Causes and Consequences

Abstract

Observing the importance of stress among employees, this study was conducted to investigate the causes and effects of stress among private secondary school teachers in Botswana. The specific objectives were to identify the causes of work related stress, to find out the effect of work related stress on performance, to explore and suggest ways of preventing work related stress among teachers. The findings of the study should guide the stakeholders especially policy makers towards reducing the stress in teachers. The study was conducted in two phases; pilot phase and final phase. In pilot phase, sampled teachers were interviewed to collect basic information on teachers stress helped in construction of data collection instrument. In the final phase, data was collected through a survey of 90 stratified random sampled teachers using a validated and reliable questionnaire. The data analysis was done through the descriptive statistics whereby mean and standard deviations were calculated. The school policies contradicting with working environment, too much work load (teaching and extra duties) and pupils indiscipline in class were identified the three most important causes of stress among teachers whereas; low morale and motivation, increase in job dissatisfaction and conflict at work place were the three important effects of stress. Effective planning and implementation, prioritizing work and ignoring the stressor environment were identified the three major ways to reduce stress. It was recommended that possible attempts should be made to reduce workload of teachers. Strategies should be devised and implemented to reduce indiscipline among students. Teachers should focus on proper planning and implantation of their work based on priority.