Perceived Stress Among School Teachers and its Associated Factors

Background: Teaching involves a heavy workload, emotional strain, and performance expectations, making it a very stressful job. This study looked at perceived stress among school teachers in Pune, India. It also examined links with age, gender, experience, school type, educational board, teaching level, and salary.

Material & Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 258 teachers. Participants filled out a socio-demographic questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). We calculated descriptive statistics and analyzed the associations between stress levels (low, moderate, high) and demographic factors using the chi-square test, setting significance at p < 0.05.

Results: The average PSS-10 score was 20.24 ± 4.85, indicating moderate stress. Most teachers (84%) reported moderate stress, while 8% reported high stress and 8% reported low stress. Younger teachers (25–34 years) and those with fewer years of experience reported significantly higher stress (p < 0.001). Teachers earning ₹20,000 or less reported the highest stress (mean = 22.13; p = 0.029). Female teachers had slightly higher scores than males, but this difference was not significant. We found no significant link with the educational board or teaching level.

Conclusion: Most teachers experienced moderate stress, especially younger, less experienced, and lower-paid teachers in private schools.

Key words: Teacher stress; Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10); school teachers; occupational stress.