A SURVEY ON JOB RELATED STRESS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN ETHIOPE EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF DELTA STATE (GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
In an attempt to systematically and comprehensively analyse the issue of Job stress among teachers in secondary schools, it is pertinent to try and explore the meaning of the term “stress”.
Stress is the term often used to describe distress, fatigue and feelings of not being able to cope. The term stress was derived from the Latin word ‘stringer’ which means to draw tight. The term was used to refer to hardship, strain, adversity, or affliction. Stress does not discriminate. It can affect people of all ages and all categories of workers depending on their circumstances and coping capabilities. That is, everyone is prone to stress.
Stress is a complex phenomenon and it is usually subjective in terms of experience. What may be challenging to one may not be for another, it depends largely on background experiences, temperament and environmental conditions. Stress is a part of life and it is generated by constantly changing situations of life. The term stress refers to an internal state, which results from frustrating or unsatisfying conditions.
Stress is any action or situation that places special physical or psychological demands upon a person, anything that can unbalance an individuals equilibrium and while the psychological response to such demand is surprisingly uniform. Perhaps the one incontestable statement that can be made about stress is that it belongs to everyone, to businessmen and teachers, to mothers and their children to factory workers. Stress is a part of the fabric of life it can be managed but not simply done away with.
