Cheryl Travers

Mental health, job satisfaction and occupational stress among UK teachers

Abstract This paper presents the findings of a large-scale nationwide investigation into stress among teachers in the UK, Data were collected via a questionnaire, from a random sample of 1790 teachers drawn from a cross-section of school types, sectors and teaching grades. Univariate analysis of the results revealed that teachers, as compared with other highly stressed occupational groups, experienced lower job satisfaction and poorer mental health. With regard to various subgroups in the sample, bivariate analysis revealed that it is necessary to consider the relationship between the level and nature of stress experienced and membership of a particular subgroup within the teaching profession (e.g. being a head teacher). Further examination of the data via the use of multivariate analysis revealed that ten reliable factors regarding ‘sources of job pressure’ could be obtained for this sample of teachers. Teachers were found to be reporting stress-related manifestations that were far higher than the popula...

The Meaning of Empowerment: The Interdisciplinary Etymology of A New Management Concept

Empowerment has become a widely used management term in the last decade or so, though, in practical terms, it shares the ambiguity of its predecessors in the HRM tradition. This paper sets out to unravel the web of meaning surrounding empowerment to show what a contested concept it is, and hence why its application in organizational settings is fraught with misunderstanding and tension. It does so by taking an approach that contributes to the examination of HRM discourse and management rhetoric. To demonstrate the ambiguity of empowerment as a concept, the paper reviews the various ways in which the term has been used across non-management disciplines (women, minority groups, education, community care, politics), culminating with a review of the use of empowerment in contemporary management theory. The paper concludes that organizations and managers have chosen to coin a phrase which is open to different, sometimes contradictory, meanings and which, when applied, evokes both subjective attitudes and objective behaviour, means different things in varying contexts, and is affected fundamentally by individual differences in perception and experience. Unless organizations offer clear operational definitions when using empowerment, instead of purely acquiescing to a vague and seductive version of the concept, they are abdicating responsibility for the unpredictable consequences that result.

Doing yourself out of a job

Looks at the effect of modern empowerment policies on middle management. The transition of middle managers from technical experts to coaches, and the position at the sharpest point of conflict between senior management and employees, means that empowerment often requires middle management to implement a policy which threatens their own jobs. Based on 28 management interviews and five focus groups held within two large UK organizations between 1995‐1996, this research seeks to to answer three central questions: How does empowerment affect middle managers? What coping mechanisms do they use? What are the implications for the organizations? The results show that, in line with previous literature, managers are resisting empowerment policies to some extent. However, the added fear of redundancy among middle managers means that they are, to varying extents, beginning to “act” their compliance to empowerment affecting the ultimate success of such initiatives.

Ethnicity and the experience of work: Job stress and satisfaction of minority ethnic teachers in the UK

This paper presents the findings of a nationwide investigation into the mental well-being and job satisfaction of minority ethnic teachers in the UK. Data were collected via a questionnaire containing both open and closed questions. The sample, totalling 208 participants was derived from the National Union of Teachers (NUT) database of minority ethnic teachers and an advertisement in the NUTs Teacher magazine. Univariate analysis of the results revealed that this group of teachers, as compared with other groups were experiencing poorer mental health and lower job satisfaction. Multivariate analysis revealed four reliable factors regarding the ‘sources of stress’ these minority ethnic teachers perceived they were experiencing. They are the ‘hierarchy and culture of the school’, workload’, ‘cultural barriers’, and the ‘lack of status and promotion’. Some minority ethnic teachers reported that ethnic discrimination on a daily basis or at least several times per week was a contributory factor in their experience of stress. Many of the teachers believed they worked within an institutionally racist environment. Multiple regression analysis discovered that ‘total stress’, ‘total self-esteem’, ‘working conditions job satisfaction’ and ‘total discrimination’ were the major predictors of mental ill-health in the minority ethnic teachers. Job dissatisfaction was predicted by ‘total discrimination’, ‘workload’, ‘total general health’, ‘resolution strategy’, and the ‘lack of status and promotion’.

Women’s networking across boundaries: recognizing different cultural agendas

Networking is increasingly being seen as a crucial skill associated with career success. Presents the findings of a study into the attitudes towards networking of a sample of women from the UK, Spain and the USA. A prior questionnaire‐based study of members’ needs, perceptions and expectations with the European Women’s Management Development Network suggested some cross‐cultural differences in networking attitudes and behaviours. In order to investigate these further, the questionnaire used was further developed and distributed to women’s networks within the USA, UK and Spain. The results indicate differences between the three countries in terms of a whole range of networking issues, leading to the categorization of American women as instrumentalists, UK women as developers, and Spanish women as socialites. Discusses the importance of developing a further understanding of networking practices and motives across cultures and suggests further research.

Beliefs about stressors alter stressors’ impact: Evidence from two experience-sampling studies

Participants from two samples (n = 31 human resources staff, n = 36 teachers) rated the extent to which they believed varying levels of a pre-defined stressor influenced positive affect, negative affect, and work performance. Participants then carried personal digital assistants for five working days, and provided data on levels of the pre-defined stressor and on momentary negative and positive affect. For both samples, momentary negative affect was more strongly associated with stressors for those participants who believed stressors caused them to feel greater negative affect. For both samples too, the association between participants’ momentary negative affect and average levels of stressors across the working week was moderated by beliefs concerning stressors’ impact on work performance.

STRESS AND STATUS IN TEACHING: AN INVESTIGATION OF POTENTIAL GENDER‐RELATED RELATIONSHIPS

Research into stress among teachers in the UK has indicated gender differences relating to the levels and types of stress experienced. The results of a study employing two types of measurement: semi‐structured interviews and an in‐depth postal questionnaire of 1,790 teachers is reported. The study focused on: the different career patterns of male and female teachers; the respective levels of education; the distribution in primary and secondary schools; and acquisition of incentive allowances; and the under‐representation of women at managerial levels. The results revealed that female teachers are not realising the levels of seniority, salary and responsibility of their male colleagues, and that levels of stress and satisfaction differ according to gender. Of major importance was the finding that both male and female teachers are reporting higher levels of stress symptoms than those of comparable occupational groups.

Current Knowledge on the Nature, Prevalence, Sources and Potential Impact of Teacher Stress

This chapter will review current research on teacher stress, identifying its nature, causes and prevalence within the contemporary teaching context. It will also examine the potential impact teacher stress can have on teachers, the pupils they teach and wider society. In addition, it will review the evidence regarding the relative influence of key school-related factors, demographics and individual teacher characteristics on teacher stress, so as to identify those teachers who are most ‘at risk’. It will conclude by offering a critique of the methodologies employed, whilst suggesting some innovative approaches for investigating teachers’ working lives. Teaching has been acknowledged as one of the most stressful of all occupations. Reports on the prevalence of stress among educators suggest that the pressures that these particular professionals encounter, are increasing. This is in spite of a large amount of research into their working experiences. Many of the identified sources of teacher stress have remained consistent over time, though constantly changing sociological and environmental factors and educational practices and policies have brought other stressors into the frame.

Individual-Organizational Interface (IOI) Interventions to Address Educator Stress

In this chapter we discuss the wide variety of interventions that can be used to achieve a better fit between educators, the demands they face and the resources available to deal with those demands. Individual-Organizational Interface (IOI) interventions often involve collaborative problem-solving and educator capacity building activities that help workers to meet or to change work demands. These interventions are based on solid theoretical foundations and appear to offer the potential to address a number of the stress-related problems commonly encountered by educators. Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of good quality intervention research and very few rigorous evaluation studies of IOI interventions that directly target educators. In this chapter we draw upon what evidence there is in an attempt to summarize the type of IOI interventions that appear likely to be of benefit to educators. We highlight the wider research on some IOI interventions that have been used within other contexts in order to tackle the types of stressors commonly reported by educators. We discuss future avenues for research and identify the practical applications of existing research findings for those currently working as educators.