Occupational Stress in Secondary Education in Cyprus: Causes, Symptoms, Consequences and Stress Management

The survey attempted to look into the causes, symptoms and consequences that occupational stress has on teachers in Secondary Education in Cyprus and find ways to manage it. Thirty eight schools with 553 teachers participated in the survey. The sample chosen is a result of a simple random sampling and it is representative of the country's population. The survey is quantitative and descriptive. Its statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS 16.0. The measurement tool used is the questionnaire which is valid and also reliable for this research. Three hundred eighty seven women and one hundred sixty six men comprise the sample of this survey and the prevailing age of the participants is 30-41. Most of the educators operate in big, urban public high schools in the Nicosia area. The most important results of the research concerning the class environment are the time pressure on the teachers, the lack of school infrastructure and the misdemeanor of students. Regarding the environment outside the classroom there seems to be a deficiency in offering the educators the possibilities for further education. In addition, there are alterations in the content curricula and inadequate building facilities. The effects that the occupational stress has on the teachers are psychic and physical symptoms like exhaustion, migraines and anger-confusion. As a consequence of the aforementioned symptoms there is a negative attitude on behalf of the teaching stuff towards work. The proposed ways for dealing with occupational stress are the right planning on behalf of the educators, their better involvement in the decision making process by the administration of school and the reduction of the material taught. A bibliography is included. (Contains 14 figures and 1 table.)