Coping Mechanisms Against Stress Among Filipino Teachers in Global Language Educational Foundation Brought About by Student-Teacher Relationship

Abstract

Stress is a consequence or a general response to an action that places special physical and psychological demands or both on an individual. It involves the interaction of the individual! with his or her environment. As people work together, interact, and operate in an organization, stress inevitably occurs. The effects of stress can be overwhelming to the individual's physical, emotional/behavioral, and even to organizational well-being. One of the kinds of stress most persons experience is occupational stress. According to Greenberg and Baron, occupational stress is the pattern of emotional states and psychological reactions occurring in response to the demands from or within an organization. The underlying premise in the study of occupational stress is that undesirable responses to the pressure in the working environment result from a ‘mismatch’ between the individual and the job that he or she does. But where do pressures in an occupation come from? Past researches have revealed that among others, the pressure of relationships at work can be a source of stress. Poor workplace relationships with superiors, colleagues, and subordinates can be damaging to an employee and to the organization as well. Today, aS many organizations continuously globalize, they are beginning to understand the far-reaching effects of stress brought by workplace relationships. As an employee suffers from the stress arising from his relationships at work, and gradually copes with the adverse effects of the workplace relationship stress, a nagging question arises as to how this employee can cope with the stress. This question has inspired the researcher to look into the coping mechanisms of employees brought by relationships in the workplace. The researcher focused on the teaching occupation and the stress arising from the student-teacher relationships for this study. Increasingly, it is becoming apparent that the occupation of teaching is one of the most stressful occupations today. The study aims to identify the coping mechanisms that Filipino teachers in Global Language Educational Foundation Incorporated use against stress brought by their working relationship with their students; to determine how often teachers in Global Language experience stress from the workplace relationship they have with their students and how do they determine its existence; to determine the perception of the respondents on the concept of stress; to identify the specific factors in the teacher-student relationship that brings stress among Filipino teachers in Global Language; to identify the negative physiological, emotional/behavioral, and organizational effects of stress among respondents brought by the teacher-student relationship; and to know the _ perceived effectiveness of the coping mechanisms of the respondents. The researcher used the descriptive method in the presentation of data and analysis. Survey-questionnaires were given to the teachers of Global Language Educational Foundation Incorporated to obtain the needed information. Data analysis revealed that: Majority of the teachers in Global Language is suffering/have suffered from stress brought by their relationship with their students. Majority of the teachers experience stress most of the time. Teachers also determine stress through the relationship of stress and their task performance. Majority of the teachers in Global language Educational Foundation incorporated perceive stress negatively. Respondents agree that stress can bring adverse effects to an individual. Behaviors and attitudes of their foreign students are sources of stress for the teachers. They identified poor communication skills, lack of concentration and specific behavioral problems like not valuing their education as the top sources of stress. Even though the students being foreigners were not highlighted as an important factor in the study, cultural differences between the teachers and the students were still identified as major sources of stress in the teacher-student relationships. Physiological effects of stress arising from the student-teacher relationship range from back pains and headache to dizziness and appetite disorders. Negative effects of stress in the teachers’ emotional/behavioral health are seen through their loss of interest in their job, getting irritated most of the time, fatigue and emotional outburst of anger. Organizational effects are characterized by dissatisfaction in the job, which translates into lack of concern for the students. Efficiency in carrying out their job is also reduced because of loss of concentration. Teachers can cope with stress. The teachers use different coping mechanisms, and more extensively used are being innovative and mobilizing social support which are the most effective compared to other forms of coping mechanisms, as perceived by the teacher-respondents.