Impact of Mental Health on Job Satisfaction and Occupational Stress among Technical Teachers

Abstract

This study examined the impact of mental health on occupational stress and job satisfaction among technical teachers in selected technical colleges of Jalgaon District, Maharashtra (India). A purposive sample of 100 technical teachers who met the eligibility criteria participated. Mental health was measured using the Employee’s Mental Health Inventory (EMHI–J; Jagdish, 2018), and respondents were categorized into high mental health (n = 50) and low mental health (n = 50) groups based on the recommended cut-off/median split. Occupational stress and job satisfaction were assessed using the Teacher’s Occupational Stress Scale (TOSS; Sharma & Kaur, 2018) and Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS–OKSU; Oza & Singh, 2017), respectively. Independent-samples t-tests (two-tailed) were used to compare group differences. Results showed that technical teachers with high mental health reported significantly lower occupational stress (M = 71.65, SD = 3.45) than those with low mental health (M = 80.23, SD = 3.09), t(98) = 13.09, p < .001, indicating a very large effect. Additionally, teachers with high mental health reported significantly higher job satisfaction (M = 114.69, SD = 4.58) than the low mental health group (M = 107.97, SD = 4.62), t(98) = 7.30, p < .001, indicating a significant effect. These findings support the view that mental health functions as a critical psychological resource that may buffer occupational strain and promote positive work attitudes among technical teachers. The study highlights the need for institutional mental health supports and stress-management interventions within technical education settings to enhance teacher well-being and workplace outcomes.