The Implications Of Work-Related Stress Among Secondary School Teachers In Tanzania: The Case Of Tanganyika District In Katavi

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the Implications of work-related stress among secondary school teachers in Tanzania, the case of Tanganyika District in Katavi Region. Specific objectives for this study were: Identify existing sources of work-related stress among secondary school teachers; Assess heads of school support strategies in assisting secondary school teachers to manage stress; Explore secondary school teachers stress management strategies; Examine the impacts of work-related stress among secondary school teachers in Tanganyika district. This study was guided by Transactional and Person Environment Fit theories. This study employed mixed approach whereby cross-sectional explanatory sequential design was used; Simple random and purposive sampling was used where 92 respondents were used as sample size; Questionnaire, interview and documentary were used for data collection; Descriptive analysis were employed for quantitative data while content analysis were for qualitative data. Results of the study revealed that; the main sources of stress were high loans’ interest rate, lack of promotion, effects of salary deduction, and low monthly salary for teachers. Seeking support from other teachers, professional counseling and physical exercises were recommended as the main techniques in solving the stress problem. In addition, head of schools employed mentoring and counseling techniques to assist their subordinates to curb work related stress; Again, low teachers’ working morale, poor teachers’ performance, conflict, sadness and ill-health were found to be the main impacts of stress problem. It is therefore recommended that heads of schools should employ mentoring and counseling techniques to curb unnecessary stress to their subordinates in order to raise the school productivity for the success of all students.