Browsing by Subject "työstressi"

Objective of the study. The beginning of teacher’s career, in other words, the induction phase, has been noticed in previous studies to be very challenging and stressful for them. During the induction phase teachers often decide on the continuation of their careers. In previous studies related to teachers in the induction phase, it has been noticed that they have higher stress levels than more experienced teachers. They also feel that their workload is excessive. This master’s thesis objective was to study the induction phase teachers’ workload forms and factors. I also make subject teachers’ workload risk profiles with person-oriented research. The main objective of this thesis is to increase understanding of the induction phase subject teachers’ workload to improve teachers’ working conditions. Methods. The data of this thesis consisted of six induction phase subject teachers’ interviews. The interviewed subject teachers were chosen at discretion for this study. The data on my study was collected as a part of a larger joint research project of the Universities of Tampere, Helsinki, and Easter Finland funded by the Academy of Finland entitled “Early career Teachers’ Professional Agency across four European countries -Key for Sustainable Educational Change?”. The data from these interviews were analyzed qualitatively with theory-based content analysis. Result and conclusions. In the induction phase subject teachers experienced a lot of workload. Teachers were burdened by stress the most. Stress was caused by excessive workload, time pressure, and the lack of support. According to the results, prolonged stress caused burnout. All the burnout dimensions (cynicism, decreased professional self-esteem, and exhaustion) came up in teachers’ speeches. This master’s thesis showed that in the induction phase subject teachers had a risk to become exhausted due to excessive workload. Subject teachers’ workloads are important to identify in order to improve teachers’ well-being at work.

The purpose of this master’s thesis is to find out which factors do classroom teachers, who have graduated from the University of Helsinki, perceive as significant factors causing work stress. In addition, it is investigated which background variables (e.g., factors related to teacher, teaching and work environment) are related to work stress. The aim is also to find out which methods class teachers have to support their coping at work. This thesis was carried out as a mixed methods research. The quantitative data was obtained through a questionnaire, which was responded by 59 class teachers who have graduated from the University of Helsinki. The data was statistically analysed using IBM SPSS. The analytical methods used were factor analysis, correlation analysis, t-tests and cross-tabulation. The quantitative results guided the development of the frame for the interview, and based on them, 4 respondents were selected for interview. The qualitative data was obtained through thematic interviews. The data was analysed by means of content analysis. The most significant factors causing work stress in a class teacher’s work are students interfering with classroom interaction, supporting special education students, responsibility for student learning, heavy workload, externally determined factors related to the development of teaching as well as some factors related to the work environment and general nature of the work. Low satisfaction with teacher training, low support from teacher colleagues, working in Greater Helsinki and teaching planning as an ability gained from studies are background variables which are related class teachers’ work stress. Problem-focused coping methods used by class teachers were managing working time, taking one’s own coping into account in planning teaching, precise practices and building good relationships with guardians and filtering media. Emotion-focused coping methods used by class teachers were leisure and healthy lifestyles, strengthening the working atmosphere, occupational well-being factors, distancing oneself and regulating emotions. In addition to this, coping methods focused on both problem and emotion, were the support of colleagues, the support of school administration, foremanship and self-awareness.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between attention to mood, mood clarity, mood repair and class teachers' job strain. There is a lot of evidence of the harmful effects of work stress on health and well-being. Previous research has specifically noted the psychological strain teachers experience in their working life and has called for more efforts to manage teachers' work well-being. Also, teaching has been described as highly emotional work, but there is very little research done on the associations of mood and emotion and school teachers' job strain. This study aims to examine whether attention to mood, mood clarity, and mood repair are associated with class teachers' job strain. Methods. The data were from a pilot study, which was collected from primary school class teachers in the metropolitan area of Finland during the spring 2013. The participants (n=55) were 44 years old on average and 89 percent of them were women. Job strain was measured using Karasek's Demand/Control model. Job demands and job control were measured with Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and job strain was calculated by subtracting decision authority from demands. Attention to mood, mood clarity, and mood repair were measured using a self-report questionnaire Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS). Two separate linear regression models were used. In the first model age and number of years of education were controlled and in the second one, also the other mood traits were controlled. Results and conclusions. The results showed that mood clarity and mood repair predicted lower job stain among class teachers. In addition, mood clarity and mood repair predicted higher job control. The results of this study suggest that mood clarity and mood repair are associated with class teachers' job strain especially through job control. Mood clarity and mood repair can be viewed as a resource that can be enhanced and learned in order to decrease job strain. It may be that mood clarity and mood repair decrease negative feelings, increase self-reflection, and increase adaptive actions and predictability of situations. Further, these positive changes may increase feelings of control and reduce job strain.

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between the character traits of Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality and effort-reward imbalance and its components among primary school teachers. Occupational stress is a common fenomenom in worklife, and it is also very costly for organisations and for the society. Long-term occupational stress is associated with increased risk of adverse health effects. Previous studies have noted that teaching is a high strain profession. In previous research personality has been associated with occupational stress. There is little research done on the associations of personality and occupational stress among teachers. The aim of this study was to examine the association of character traits and occupational stress among primary school teachers. Methods. The data used in this pilot study was collected by random sample from primary school class teachers in Helsinki metropolitan area during the spring 2013. There were 55 participants out of which 49 (89%) were women and 6 (11%) were men. The average age of participants was 44 years. Occupational stress was measured using Siegrist's effort-reward –imbalance (ERI) model. Character traits were measured with Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory. Three separate linear regression models were done to measure the association between the character traits and effort-reward imbalance. The first model measured the direct effect of a character trait, in the second model age and number of years of education were controlled and in the third model also the other character traits were controlled. Results and conclusions. Character traits seem to be related to the occupational stress among primary school teachers. Responsibility and purposefulness, two subscales of self-directedness were associated with effort-reward imbalance at work. Higher responsibility and purposefulness predicted lower effort-reward imbalance at work. High purposefulness was associated with lower efforts. Two subscales of cooperativeness, empathy and pure-hearted conscience, were associated with higher rewards. Self-trancendence was not associated with effort-reward imbalance nor its components. These results add further evidence to the idea that certain personality traits may predispose to and protect from the occupational stress among teachers. This knowledge could be used for developing teachers' stress management skills and occupational well-being.

Well-being at work is challenged by problems in employee–working environment fit. Therefore job stress can occur. Employees can use several strategies to adjust the fit and gain better well-being. If the job-stress is prolonged, it may eventually cause burnout. Previous studies indicate that burnout is related to problems in working community, individual well-being and turnover. In the educational field employees experience more job stress and burnout symptoms than in other fields. Only a few studies have been done about school principals' well-being. Therefore the aims of the research were to analyze school principals' well-being and to investigate if proactive strategies, principal–working environment fit and turnover intentions relate to challenges of well-being. Research data was gathered as a part of a wider, national research project called Learning, agency and pedagogical well-being in comprehensive school (Pyhältö, Pietarinen & Soini, 2014). The participants were selected with random sampling method (N=6000). Altogether 2310 teachers and principals completed the questionnaire. Principals and assistant principals (from now on: principals, n=420) were selected for this research. Principals were clustered into different groups based on the challenges of well-being they reported. Those challenges were measured in terms of job stress and burnout symptoms. The clusters that represented burnout symptoms and job stress were formed through hierarchical cluster analysis, K-Means cluster analysis and discriminant function analysis. One-way analysis of variance and crosstabs were conducted to see, whether principals in different clusters varied in terms of proactive strategies, principal–working environment fit, turnover intentions and background variables. Results indicate that on average the principals are doing quite well. Even so, quite a lot of them reported turnover intentions. It was possible to cluster principals into four groups: 1) principals, who experience well-being, 2) cynical principals, 3) principals, who experience burnout and 4) principals in danger of burn out. The cluster membership was related to proactive self-regulating strategies, principal–working environment fit and turnover intentions. Principals who experience well-being reported the best principal–working environment fit, strongest proactive self-regulating strategies and less turnover intentions. Cynical principals reported quite strong proactive self-regulating strategies, second worst principal–working environment fit and some turnover intentions. Principals who experience burnout reported weakest proactive self-regulating strategies, worst principal–working environment fit and most turnover intentions. Principals in danger of burn out reported quite good principal–working environment fit, quite weak proactive strategies and lots of turnover intentions. In future there is a need to better understand the development of school principal burnout and the motives behind school principals' turnover intentions.

Research reveals that more than every fourth Finn experiences work-related exhaustion to some degree. Stress and exhaustion have psychological and physical expressions. The main physical factor in stress is the overloading of the autonomic nervous system, which can be measured for instance by variations of heart rate. Studies show that the work field, management and authority of the work, skill developmental possibilities, and social support inhibit stress overload. The practising of self-relaxation techniques possible inhibits working stress and exhaustion. In this study of preventive rehabilitation, the focus was on the effects of the training of "applied relaxation" on psychological and physiological variables of stress and empowerment of resources. Participants (n=73) were basically healthy and capable of working, 25-40 of age, workers from the field of mental work. They practised "applied relaxation" under group conduction for seven weeks. The aim was to learn to relax easily even in everyday occasions. The subjects were tested thirdly. After the first measurement, they were grouped into two groups, of which the first group started the relaxation training. The second group began practising half a year after the second measurement. The third measurement was done one year after the beginning of the study. It was hypothesised that the training of "applied relaxation" would significantly reduce stress on both psychological and physiological variables and that these variables would correlate positively. Results revealed that the training of 'applied relaxation' reduced psychological stress symptoms rather modestly. The changes were more significant in women, who experienced a slight increase in self-directivity. Physical changes were slight decreases of the sympathetic activation. The correlations of psychological and physiological variables were modest. Some changes were reduced after the active training. There was a positive interrelation between experienced work-related demands of efficiency, insufficient social support and exhaustion. There was a tendency to significance between skill developmental possibilities and psychological stress symptoms. Further implications of the results were discussed.