A Study of The Occupational Stress and Coping Strategies of Secondary School Teachers Working in Hyderabad District

The present study was conducted to find out the occupational stress and coping strategies adapted by the secondary school teachers to overcome work stress. A sample of 100 secondary school teachers working in Hyderabad district were chosen randomly. For finding out the stress levels of the teachers the occupational stress scale developed by Dr. Meenakshi Sharma and Dr. Satvinderpal Kaur(2014) was chosen and for knowing the level of coping strategies adapted by them a researcher developed 4 point rating scale was used. Appropriate statistical techniques were adopted to analyze the data. The results of the study indicated that the major source of work stress was work load and to overcome it the teacher resorted to social and community support strategies. The higher the number of coping strategies the lower is the occupational stress. The very purpose is distress education for children but lack of clarity is causing stress among teachers and ultimately the students. The results also confirmed that to release the stress the secondary school teachers were resorting to social and community support strategies. Speaking about the problem to the family members and friends was found to be very effective in handling the stress as they are the only ones who offer immense social, moral and emotional support.