Index

ABSTRACT

Stress is a natural part of everyday living thus, individuals experience varying levels of stress within and outside the work place but when in excess, stress results in loss of productivity. This study therefore examined whether Nigerian teachers experience stress on their job, assessed the extent to which stress affects their productivity and examined their coping strategies. These were with a view to providing information on level of job stress among Nigerian teachers, issues associated with it and the need to minimize job stress among teachers. The study adopted descriptive survey research method. The population for the study was 6,982 while 270 teachers purposively selected constituted the sample frame. A self-designed instrument: Job Stress and Teachers’ Coping Strategies Questionnaire (JSCS-Q) was used for data collection with percentage to answer the research questions. The results showed that having to teach very large classes (92.2%), marking and recording for all the students in such classes (88.1%) constituted stress for teachers. Others include; gross inadequate instructional materials (93.3%), poor conditions of service (87.5%), heavy workload (83.7%), students’ indiscipline and people’s attitude towards teachers (80.4%). Consequently, all of these caused Nigerian teachers’ productivity to be affected to a very large extent. Also, Nigerian teachers had to cope by chatting with colleagues (82.6%), physical exercising (78.9%), relaxation and behavioural modifications (72.2%) and (71.1%) respectively. This study concluded that teaching job has stress and teachers devise coping strategies themselves.

Keywords: Teachers, Job, Stress, Job stress, Coping, Strategies, Coping strategies, Nigerian, Schools, Nigerian schools.

DOI: 10.20448/801.61.1.13

Citation | Subair, S.Tayo; Abe Olaitan Oluwaseun; Aliyu, M. Olasunkanmi (2021). Job Stress and Teachers’ Coping Strategies in Nigerian Schools. American Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 6(1): 1-13.

Copyright: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

Funding : This study received no specific financial support.

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

History : Received: 24 May 2021 / Revised: 17 June 2021 / Accepted: 8 July 2021 / Published: 26 July 2021.

Publisher: Online Science Publishing

1. INTRODUCTION

Teachers in 21st century are the brainbox of educational activities, which remain enormous in championing the development of any country because all other professions take their sources from teaching profession. The myriad importance of this teaching profession to the society shows that teachers are key elements and propellers for school improvement. They do attend to students’ needs, experiences and feelings, listen and give information, explain some phenomenon, demonstrate skills or processes, test understanding and capacity; facilitate learning activities such as note taking, discussions, assignment writing, simulations and practices. Teachers attend to diverse needs of 21st century students who come to school with very different sets of experiences and expectations. To meet up with these herculean tasks necessitate educators to open up to new ways of teaching and be readily available to lending support to students.

Teachers' occupational stress in Nigeria has been on the increase over time. The increased workplace stress has a negative effect on not just teachers' well-being, but also on the society as a whole; resulting in a decrease in the number and quality of service, as well as teachers' job productivity. As a result, occupational stress among school teachers has been identified as a serious problem in many nations around the world. For example, a study of primary and secondary school teachers in Hong Kong found that a significant number of them suffer stress and despair at work work (Leung, Wah Mak, Yu Chui, Chiang, & Lee, 2009). Similarly, teachers see their career as being a demanding task when compared to other occupations. Moreover, in their daily tasks, they are exposed to a variety of pressures that generate varying levels of occupational stress.

Teachers are essential individuals in society and their influence is felt in every aspect; because no educational system can be qualitatively higher than the quality and amount of devotion displayed by its teachers. This implies that the success of any school process is heavily reliant on their educational achievement. The fact is that learning and teaching are dependent on teachers, because without educators, no nation can achieve genuine socio - political growth. The success of all academic processes, progress, and growth is dependent on the number, quality, and dedication of teachers. Even if policy makers have the best policies and plans, and the administration has committed the most funds to education, the eventual achievement of any set of educational goals is dependent on the teacher. In their encounters with their learners, teachers are answerable for putting strategy into act and principles into reality (Ogunyinka, Okeke, & Adedoyin, 2015).

These teachers are not only saddled with the responsibility of meeting the needs of the students but also dealing with their own unique sets of challenges. Teachers' lives are generally characterized by increased emotional and professional stress as a result of increased employment needs, increased professional development expectations, and increasingly demanding subject content. The additional demands of the accountability movement, including an increased reporting, additional testing, learning environment for diverse learners, and engagement in their school communities, add time to their already overburdened routines. Parental expectations for clear communication and prompt responses to questions and requests add to their already-overburdened work time. All of which result in job stress.

The issue of job stress is so enormous for the teacher in this contemporary society where teachers are being seen as center of development for all nations, believing that teachers have all it takes to turn the society around not minding the herculean task in the profession. This is the single reason why, more than ever before, employee well-being has become a focus of global attention. Furthermore, stress-related diseases account for 60-90 percent of all illnesses experienced by humans (Chan, Chen, & Chong, 2010). This is a situation that is not exclusive to instructors. As a result, teacher job stress (JS) has become one of the research topics that has piqued the interest and worries of various academics. As a result, workplace stress has been considered as having health implications on educators' well-being, with stress occurring when the resources available are inadequate to meet the demands and responsibilities of the job.

Therefore, stress refers to the combination of physiological and psychological reactions that negatively affect individuals in all facets of life. Thus, stress is more likely experienced in some situations where some individuals are confronted with jobs above their capabilities than others. Some issues that are prevalent in the teaching job, nature of teaching job are; work environment, monthly take home of the teachers, vilifications that society subject teachers to and some other factors that can undermine the achievement of goals, both for teachers and schools (Hoe, 2014).

Persons who have suffered occupational stress may desire to utilize a variety of coping tactics, such as completely avoiding work or playing pranks, to reduce the bad impacts. According to Curtis, Patrick, Caldwell, and Collier (2000), people adopt a variety of stress coping strategies that are thought to have better effects in reducing stress, such as regular exercise, rest, behavioral modifications, cognitive therapies, marital status choice, meditations, and so on. All of these things aid educators in reducing occupational stress and improving their physical and psychological well-being, allowing them to perform better on their jobs. It is against this background that this study seeks to assess the coping strategies that Nigerian teachers’ device to be able to work with stress emanating from the teaching job.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Individuals encounter varied amounts of stress in and outside of the workplace since stress is a natural element of everyday life. Stress at work causes productivity loss owing to absenteeism, work-related accidents, stress claims, a demotivated staff, subversion, and even insolvency (Cartwright & Cooper, 1996). Stress, according to Antoniou and Cooper (2005), is an emotional and automatic response to the impression of danger. In a report released in 2008 to commemorate World Day for Safety and Health, the International Labour Oganization ILO (2008) said that an additional 160 million individuals now experience job stress. This has a negative impact on people's lives, company productivity, the economy, and the atmosphere (Adeyemi, 2008). Work stress is becoming a more prevalent health issue in the workplace, as well as a substantial source of financial loss.

Indeed, pressure is a term that is rarely clearly understood and there is no agreement among scientists on the concept of professional or job stress. This is because it has different meanings to different people (Stranke, 2005). In the relevant literature, it can be realized that several scholars believe that professional or job stress has a great effect on employees' lives and is linked to both physical and mental health (Hopkins 2014). Stress, on the other hand, is defined by psychologists as the body's reaction to a change that necessitates a mental, bodily, or emotional adjustment or response (Erdogan & Bauer, 2009).

Teacher stress, according to Kyriacou (2001), is the experiencing of negative emotions and repulsive feelings by instructors, such as wrath, anxiety, irritation, melancholy, and anxiety, as a result of various aspects of their work as teachers. Chan, Chen, and Chong (2010) saw professional stress as an unpleasant feeling, that grows when individuals’ exertion, overwork, and worry about them cannot deal with excessive stress. According to Mohammed (2018), when a worker's abilities, resources, or needs do not match the job's standards, he or she will experience job stress. Work stress, on the other hand, manifests itself in three stages: alarm reaction, resistant, and tiredness.

i. The alarm stage:   Some outside stress jolts the person at this point, pressing on matters that must be completed. It might help him/her to think of this time as a personal experience-based defense. After properly dealing with the source of tension, the body will return to its resting state if the reaction is sufficient (Erdogan & Bauer, 2009).

ii. The resistance stage:  This stage is marked by rising stress levels, as well as significant feelings of stress and pressure. Many adverse outcomes of resistance are common, such as the need to make quick judgments and the possibility of disputes or damaging conflicts. Furthermore, resistance can result in the formation of a slew of new positions and variables that emerge beyond the individual's and organization's control, potentially leading to the collapse of resistance and the appearance of a slew of adverse difficulties and illnesses (Moorhead & Griffin, 2012).

iii. The exhaustion stage. When occupational pressure keeps acting on the body, the body’s natural ability to adjust is finally compromised, and overloading occurs. Also, the individual progresses to this stage when he or she is consistently subjected to forms of stress for an extended period of time, as a result of frequent resistance and attempts to adapt (Stranke, 2005).

In general, sources of professional stress include: under load, work overload, role conflict and ambiguity, poor working conditions and job instability (Rani & Singh, 2012). Occupational stress can be categorized based on their source hence, certain occupational stress has impacts on employees through their senses, such as, extremes of temperature, noise, odors, exposure to infectious and hazardous substances, and ventilation and light (Stranke, 2005).

According to Kotteeswari and Sharief (2014), work-related stress is a relatively new idea in today's world. It's also worth noting that the nature of work has changed dramatically over the previous century, and it's continuing developing at breakneck speed. This transition, as seen in several aspects of life, is accompanied by a significant amount of stress, if not a great deal of it. As a result, workplace stress poses a threat to workers' physical health, which, in turn, impacts the health of organizations. Job stress, according to Kotteeswari and Sharief (2014), is caused by a variety of internal and external variables, including:

• Overtime Work: Overtime can have a significant effect on employee productivity and performance. Regular overtime combined with the possibility of performance issues can produce major problems for employees, resulting in stress. It should be noted that when employees are overworked, their efficiency and productivity may decline. This can lead to lack of motivation or negative attitude to work because they may begin to perceive their job as a stress factor. It is therefore essential that the management ensure that employees work time is effectively managed in the running of the affairs of the organization.
• Managerial Standards: Employees may experience stress or motivation as a result of managerial standards. Managerial requirements should be in line with the job responsibilities indicated in the human resources job requirements. A job description also includes information about the employee's past, such as their educational history. Managers should match their requirements to the employee's responsibilities. Demand more from employees than they were hired for, or than their history has prepared them for, can cause stress and, as a result, lower employee productivity.
• Lack of Motivation: The exclusion of motivational packages in employees’ welfare is another inherent organizational factor which may constitute a kind of psychological stress to them. Since employees tend to perform better when being motivated, therefore, a lack of motivation for them may destabilise and water down their morale. Financial incentives, the ability to participate in company projects, a career path that leads to management, and direct engagement from management in everyday activities are all examples of motivation. Effective motivation can result in a productive workforce, whilst a lack of it might leave employees looking for reasons to put out their best effort.
• Lack of Organizational Commitment: Employees that feel as though the company has made a commitment to employee success tend to derive satisfaction from their job. Meanwhile, employees feel stressed if they perceive that the organization is not committed to their success. Offering a competitive rate of pay and benefits package, assisting employees in paying for higher education costs, developing a regular training schedule that keeps employees informed about company changes and provides pertinent information for employees to do their jobs; and upgrading equipment to ensure that employees have the most efficient technology available to do their jobs are all examples of commitment. Employees reciprocate the company's commitment with their own dedication.
• Fault-finding Evaluations: An employee performance assessment is a two-way process in which the management provides feedback on the employee's performance and the employee has the opportunity to share what he or she has learned over the course of the year. On the other hand, employees’ evaluation can create stress when such evaluations are carried out with the aim of finding fault with the job of the employees and not for improving their performance, which is the ideal. It is important that managers should create a plan along with the employee for the coming year on how the employee can develop and improve their performance without feeling threatened or stressed.

Furthermore, Colligan and Higgins (2006) found that a variety of factors appear to contribute significantly to occupational stress, including negative volume of work, segregation, lack of independence, long hours work, toxic working conditions, difficult coworker and management relationships, harassment, management bullying, and a lack of resources or motivation. These writers went on to say that there are five different types of elements that contribute to workplace stress. These factors often lead the employees to have psychological reactions in their bodies and have ability to strain them physically and mentally. These categories of factors are:

1. Factors unique to the job: This area refers to a worker's ability to cope with the precise hours worked, the expected level of productivity, the physical surroundings, and manager's expectations for the task.
2. Role in the organization:  Another sort of stress factor is an employee's role in the organization, which is linked to the employee's hierarchical ranking inside the organization. Upper management has the authority to oversee the organization's overall operations. Because the employee must be able to accomplish multiple duties at the same time, this might be stressful.
3. Career development: This category dovetailed into other issues of concern to the employee as it relates to his/her job. For instance, security of employee occupation, his promotion, continual training and development as technology and economic dominance change, they are all sources of stress in the corporate sector.
4. Interpersonal work relationships: The workplace is a location where people communicate and interact. These connections have formed or are forming, and they can be either troublesome or beneficial. Harassment, discrimination, biased opinions, hearsay, and other nasty statements are all common stressors.
5. Organizational structure or climate: Important aspects to evaluate are the organizational climate or structure in terms of communication, management style, and involvement among groups of employees. As a result of the high involvement rate, collaborative planning, and evenly distributed responsibilities, the whole consequent effect is proven to have a good effect on stress reduction, increased work productivity, work performance, and reduced psychological ailments. These several types demonstrate that distress can exist when a disagreement arises between the worker's job demands and the person himself. If stress is not adequately managed, it can lead to distress (Narban, Narban, & Singh, 2016).

Many research, such as Pithers and Soden (1998), have indicated that there are major sources of occupational stress for teachers in schools. Teaching students who lack motivation, maintaining discipline, time pressures and workload, coping with change, dealing with colleagues, being evaluated by others, status update and self-esteem, inefficient management and ineffective organization, conflict between individuals and ambiguity, poor physical environment, and work (Kyriacou, 2001).

In brief, when school heads consider about reducing stress in the workplace, it is important for the organization to improve individual performance and achieve goals. Therefore, the school administration must understand the sources of stress, afterward overcoming them. When achieving the best teacher performance, this can be reflected in the educational level of the pupil. In the current situation, stress among teachers is a dangerous issue, and difficult problem to deal with in the workplace.

It is critical to understand the nature of stress and the key sources of job stress in order to comprehend the consequences of job stress on an individual's physical, psychological, and behavioral health. Continuous exposure to stressful situations, or an accumulation of stressors over time, is linked to the beginning of sickness, emotional tension, and engaging in undesirable activities, according to overwhelming evidence. The fact that pressure can cause illness and is linked to the occurrence and progression of coronary heart disease, mental illness, certain types of cancer, smoking, dietary issues, excessive alcohol consumption and substance abuse, life dissatisfaction, workplace accidents and unsafe behavior, migraine, stomach ulcers, hay fever, asthma, and skin rashes, as well as marital and family issues (Dalton, 1998). Furthermore, it was discovered that people with poor problem-solving and coping abilities, inability to comprehend and cope with their own emotions, and a lack of social and self-assertion skills are more susceptible to stress and subsequent alcohol and drug abuse (Vetter, 1981). The impacts of work stress can be divided into three categories. Increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, sweating, hot and cold spells, breathing trouble, muscular tension, and increased gastrointestinal issues are among physiological impacts of stress. Anger, anxiety, sadness, diminished self-esteem, poorer intellectual functioning, inability to concentrate and make decisions, uneasiness irritability, hatred of monitoring, and work discontent are some of the psychological effects of stress (Chen & Spector, 1991).

Reduced productivity, absenteeism, greater accident rates, higher turnover rates, increased alcohol and other drug addiction, impulsive conduct, and communication issues are just a few of the behavioral repercussions of stress. Individuals feel significant pain and discomfort owing to abnormalities in the psychological and emotional systems, according to Chunninghan (2000), in addition to physical ailments. A person who is furious, upset, or emotionally unstable is incapable of making sensible decisions or exercising sound judgment. Stress has a negative impact on a person's ability to relate to others. Feeling of anxiety, alcohol or drug abuse, deteriorated relationships, sleeping problems, changes in one's mental processes and attention, behavioral disruptions, and work burnout are all common outcomes (Chunninghan, 2000).

Coping is described as a person's continuous psychological - behavioral efforts to manage certain external and/or internal demands that are deemed to be tasking or surpassing the person's resources. Coping can also be thought of as a dynamic process and response to a circumstance marked by uncertainty and significant repercussions. Coping is also defined as a process-oriented, non-automated adaptive behaviour that requires effort and the management of life stressors (Backer, 2000). Lazarus (2000) described coping as "whatever humans do to control, tolerate, or decrease the effects of life's stressors, such as perceived threats, present issues, or emotional losses" (Wade & Travis, 2003). With these broad meanings, coping is best defined as dealing with stressful situations, exerting efforts to address life's issues, and attempting to master or decrease stress. Coping with stressful situations is a complicated, dynamic process aimed at reducing the impact of stressful events on a person's physical, social, and emotional well-being. To attain good coping, there are three steps to take. To begin, one must try to foresee probable stressors before they occur and establish adequate plans for the various outcomes. After that, a person must lessen the physical arousal brought on by stressors. In order to lessen stressors, it is critical that the individual be able to distinguish facts from emotions. In addition, generating pleasant feelings in difficult situations helps to reduce stress levels. According to Kotteeswari and Sharief (2014) management of employees’ job stress can be through the introduction of organizational coping strategies and individual coping strategies.

Satpathy (2014) opined that for one to manage stress, one must try to foresee probable stressors before they occur and establish adequate attack plans for the various outcomes. After that, a person must lessen the physical arousal brought on by stressors. In order to lessen stressors, it is critical that the individual be able to distinguish facts from emotions. In addition, generating pleasant feelings in difficult situations helps to reduce stress levels. A friendly, approachable, trustworthy, cooperative, and warm attitude among members of a person's social network can be defined as social support capable of reducing stressAs a result, individuals can use coping skills to relieve stress and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Physical activity can help you get in shape, and relaxation techniques such as biofeedback and meditation can help you cope with stress. Biofeedback is a technique in which a person learns the intrinsic rhythms of a specific physiological process and how to control them using electronic impulses. Meditation, on the other hand, aids in the physical and emotional rest of the body. A somewhat calm setting, a comfortable position, a repeating mental stimulation, and a passive mindset are all key components of any meditation.

Then there is the work-home interaction, which can be used as a kind of relaxation. Using this strategy, a person can devote the remaining 30 or 60 minutes of work time to less stressful routine tasks. For example, during the last hour of work, a person can review the day's actions and prioritize the things that must be completed the next day. As a result, he can conclude his work for the day and return in a calm manner. Additionally, cognitive treatment may be used. Psychologists devised this unique cognitive therapy technique as a result to rising stress levels. Lectures and interactive discussion sessions are used in this technique to help participants recognize work-related events and the cognitions they elicit; become aware of the effects of such cognitions on their physiological and emotional responses; systematically evaluate the objective consequences of work-related events; and replace self-defeating cognitions that cause unnecessary strain. Networking is also beneficial for forming intimate relationships with trusted, empathic coworkers and colleagues who are good listeners and confidence builders. Such people offer mental assistance to help a person get through a difficult situation.

2.1. Statement of the Problem

Teachers in the twenty-first century are critical to any country's growth because they play the most important role in the achievement of school goals and global development, since no nation can advance without responsible and motivated teachers. However, despite the numerous contributions of teachers to global development, various research findings have suggested that their general well-being and effective productivity are influenced by their job stress. In their daily activities, Nigerian school teachers are exposed to a variety of stressors that generate varying degrees of job stress. Negative community attitudes toward teachers, heavy workloads, lack of cooperation from head and colleagues, delayed salary payment, performing duties other than teaching, insults and assaults from students and parents, political interference, student indiscipline, poor work environment, time pressure, and a variety of other factors are all possible sources of stress for teachers that can affect their productivity. This study aims to look into the coping mechanisms of Nigerian teachers in light of the current circumstances.

2.2. Research Questions

The following questions were raised to guide the study:

1. What is the experience of Nigerian teachers of teaching job stress?
2. To what extent does job stress among Nigerian teachers affects their productivity?
3. What are the coping strategies commonly employed by Nigerian teachers to ensure stress free job?

3. METHODOLOGY

The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised all the 6,982 teachers in 489 public secondary schools spread across the three Senatorial Districts and 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Osun state. The Multi-stage sampling procedure was used for selecting the sample from 6,982 teachers in Osun State. Two hundred and seventy teachers (270) were purposively selected from the population using research advisor at 0.05 level of significance. Three Local Government areas (LGAs) from each of the three senatorial districts in Osun state were selected using simple random sampling technique. Simple random sampling technique was also used to select five schools from each LGA. Six teachers from each school were selected using purposive sampling technique. The teachers selected were those that have been in the schools for a minimum of three years, this is to ensure that they can give accurate information about the level of job stress and coping strategies. A self-designed instrument entitled: Job Stress and Coping Strategies Questionnaire (JSCS-Q) was used to gather data for the study. The instrument was pilot-tested to determine its reliability. Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts, and percentage.

4. RESULTS

Research Questions 1: What is the experience of Nigerian teachers of teaching job stress? To answer this question, respondents’ responses were computed using percentage. The results were presented in Table 1.

Table-1. Experience of teachers on teaching job stress.

Table 1 showed the experience of Nigerian teachers towards teaching job. From the Table, it was agreed upon that preparation of lesson instructional materials is tiring 184(68.1%), and that teaching large arms or classes causes fatigue 249(92.2%). It further showed that giving, marking and recording of continuous assessment is time consuming 238(88.1%). Also, respondents agreed that setting end of the term examination constitute job stress to teachers 216(80%). It also showed that teachers agreed that accomplishing too many tasks affect their concentration in the school 194(71.8%). They strongly disagreed that marking of inconsistency answer sheets and grading of examination scores is not stressful 215(80.4%) perhaps of their mindset on job requirement. Finally, the respondents agreed that attending administrative meetings in addition to their teaching activities can be exhausting 217(80.4%). Conclusively, the result established that Nigerian teachers do experience stress in their teaching job.

Research Questions 2: To what extent does job stress among Nigerian teachers affect their productivity? To answer this question, respondents’ responses were computed using percentage. The results were presented in Table 2. Using: Great Extent = GE, Moderate Extent = ME, Some Extent - SE and Not at All = NA

Table-2. Teachers job stress and productivity.

Table 2 showed how job stress among Nigerian teachers affects their productivity. Item one showed that inadequate of instructional materials leads to job stress 162(93.3%), they also agreed that heavy workload leads to job stress 229(83.7%). It further established that students’ negative reactions toward teachers results in job stress 217(80.4%). Responses to item four showed that negative community attitudes result in teachers’ job stress 137(50.8%). It also showed that poor condition of service results in job stress 236(87.5%), likewise, lack of co-corporation from head and colleagues result in job stress 212(78.5%).  Furthermore, they agreed that performing duties other than teaching results in job stress 198(73.3%), large size of the class results in job stress for the teachers 181(67.1%). Also, inadequate professional training and few opportunities to grow professionally result in teachers’ job stress 235(87%). Likewise, political interference results in job stress for the teachers 204(75.6%). Also, stringent job requirements result in job stress 169(62.6%) and differentiating instructions for diverse learners result in job stress 155(57.4%). Conclusively, the results showed that job stress among Nigerian teachers affects their productivity.

Research Questions 3: What are the coping strategies commonly employed by Nigerian teachers in the face of job stress? To answer this question, respondents’ responses were computed using percentage. The results were presented in Table 3.

Table 3 showed coping strategies commonly employed by Nigerian teachers when faced with stress. It was established that the respondents disagreed that playing some pranks by the teachers helps to minimize job stress 171(63.3%), but agreed that cracking jokes with colleagues help teachers to minimize job stress 223(82.6%). Also, teachers agreed that physical exercise helps minimize job stress 213(78.9%). Furthermore, respondents agreed that relaxation helps teachers out of job stress 249(72.2.4%). Also, teachers believed that behavioral modification minimizes teachers’ job stress 192(71.1%).  Conclusively, the results showed that all the identified coping strategies except pranks playing are commonly employed by Nigerian teachers to overcome the challenges of job stress.

5. DISCUSSION

5.1. Nigerian Teachers’ Experience of Teaching Job Stress

Emanating from this study remains the fact that Nigerian teachers are faced with a lot of situations constituting job stress for them. Some of these are exposure to very large classes to teach, and marking and recording of students’ scripts in the classes. Other forms of stress experienced by teachers on the job are; gross inadequate of instructional materials, poor conditions of service, students’ misbehavior, and attitude of the people in the society towards teachers. This can be corroborated by the ILO (2008) that an additional 160 million new people suffer from work related stress. This takes their toll on human lives, business performance, economy and the environment. This finding equally corroborated (Adeyemi, 2008) that occupational stress is an increasingly cause of occupational health problem and a significant cause of economic loss. It may cause subtle manifestation of morbidity that can affect personal well-being and productivity. However, Luthans (1998) was of the opinion that stress is not necessarily something damaging, bad or to be avoided. Stress is inevitable. The key is how the person handles stress. But it is supported by Hopkins (2014), that several scholars’ belief that professional or job stress has a great effect on employees' lives and is linked to both physical and mental health. However, specialists see stress as an unpleasant psychological process that occurs in response to environmental pressures. Chan et al. (2010) who also observed that professional stress is an unpleasant feeling, that grows when individuals’ exertion, overwork, and worry about what they cannot deal with. From the findings therefore, it becomes imperative to acknowledge that teaching job in Nigerian schools is associated with stress inducing factors.

5.2. Extent of Job Stress Among Nigerian Teachers and Their Productivity

Stress among Nigerian teachers has affected their productivity to a very large extent as they were no longer motivated to put in their best again. Contrary to this, Cartwright and Cooper (1996) observed that stress is a natural part of everyday living just that individuals experience varying levels of stress in and outside the work place. This fact the teachers were aware of but when it goes beyond what they could contend with, it poses threat to them. This finding is supported by the findings of Antoniou and Cooper (2005) that work place stress results in reduced productivity due to absenteeism, work-related accidents, stress claims, a de-motivated workforce, sabotage and even bankruptcy. One of the most prevalent phenomena in the modern society and work is professional stress, as all aspects of human activities generate stress. Equally, Cooper (2005) supports the findings that stress is psychological and physical state that results when the resources of the individual are not sufficient to cope with the demands and pressures of the situation. Thus, stress is more likely in some situations than others and in some individuals than others. Stress can undermine the achievement of goals, both for individuals and for organizations.

5.3. Coping Strategies Commonly Employed by the Nigerian Teachers in the Face of Stress

Findings showed that Nigerian teachers have devised some strategies to cope with the stress of the teaching job. Likewise, some accepted stress as part of peculiarity to teaching job, but majority resolved into calming oneself off the stress, chatting with their colleagues and self-re-designing of workload. Satpathy (2014) backed up the findings that there are various steps that may be used to attain effective management. To begin, one must try to foresee probable stressors before they occur and establish adequate attack plans for the various outcomes. After that, a person must lessen the physical arousal brought on by stressors. In order to lessen stressors, it is critical that the individual be able to distinguish facts from emotions. In addition, generating pleasant feelings in difficult situations helps to reduce stress levels. A friendly, approachable, trustworthy, cooperative, and warm attitude among members of a person's social network can be defined as social support capable of reducing stress. A supportive attitude from a spouse or friend toward an issue allows the person in question to seek assistance in resolving a stressful situation. This indicates that an individual begins to establish connections among coworkers by offering opportunities, understanding, expressing opinions, and participating in decision-making processes linked to work. It has been discovered that including workers in decision-making increases communication and interpersonal relationships within work units. As a result of these communications, social support grows, and job-related stress diminishes (Nelson & Burke, 2000).

6. CONCLUSION

This study concluded that teachers are faced with a lot of stress emanating from very large classes to teach, books and scripts to mark and record for all the students in the classes. Other forms of stress include inadequate instructional materials, poor conditions of service, students’ misbehavior, and attitude of the people towards teachers; all reduced teachers’ productivity to a very large extent. In order to cope, Nigerian teachers devised some strategies to calm oneself off the stress like chatting with their colleagues, relaxation, meditating, reduced workload, and many other means as may be considered appropriate by individual teacher.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings of the study, it is thus recommended that the Nigerian government should employ more teachers so that heavy work load will be shared; make provision for sufficient materials for teaching and learning and improve conditions of service for the teachers in the country. Similarly, Nigerian government should make provision for recreational facilities in schools for the teachers to cool their nerves when job stress arises; inducement should be made available to teachers apart from regular payment of their salaries; and above all, leave should be encouraged and made compulsory for teachers.

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