Social Support for Managing Occupational Stress Among Tribal Primary Teachers of Meghalaya, India

Abstract

World Health Organization (2017) defines work related stress as, “a pattern of reactions that occurs when workers are presented with work demands not matched to their knowledge, skills or abilities and which challenge their ability to cope” (p.13). The teaching profession is considered one of the most stressful profession (Beers, 2012). Lack of social support from home, boss or colleagues is one of the factors that causes occupational stress among teachers (Levi, 1988). Exploring ways to reduce their stress and support their occupational demand is therefore key to a more productive and nurturing teaching-learning environment. Using a mixed method research design, this paper explores social support among the tribal hills in Meghalaya and its possible use in managing occupational stress among primary teachers in urban and rural schools in East Khasi Hills District.A probability sampling design, specifically a stratified random sampling was used for the quantitative study and a non-probability sampling also purposive sampling was used for the qualitative study. The Occupational Stress Scale (OSS) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used for collecting data. There was a significant relationship between social support and occupational stress with p value of <.0001. Social support was very high among the primary teachers. Using a thematic analysis, social support was identified to be a strong factor for coping with occupational stress among the tribal population. Primary teachers seek social support from colleagues, co-workers and the school administration to cope with occupational stress. Recognizing that social support among co-workers is a strong factor to cope with occupational stress, a support system can be developed at the school levels where teachers can talk to each other about occupational stress and how to cope with it.