Understanding the Impact of Occupational Stress on the Home Environment: Evidence from Oman

Abstract

Women develop stress not only at work but also in their home environment, which leads to chaos in both places. This study not only examines the extent of occupational stress among primary school teachers but also identifies the most important antecedents of occupational stress and its impact on the home environment. A survey was conducted on primary school teachers from Al Batinah Governorate in Oman. A sample of 232 respondents was effectively drawn to analyse data using the SmartPLS-based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The job demand control support (JDCS) model was used to study occupational stress. A new variable home environment was included in the study to extend the JDCS model. The findings revealed some factors causing occupational stress and a significant positive relationship between occupational stress and the home environment. The study recommended the creation of a positive work environment, the development of appropriate educational policies, and the improvement of relationships with people in the workplace to ameliorate the stress affecting the home environment.

Keywords

Occupational stress teachers home environment primary school women

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abdullah

A. S.

, & Ismail

S. N.

(2019). A structural equation model describes factors contributing teachers’ job stress in primary schools. International Journal of Instruction, 12(1), 1251–1262.

Agha

(2017). Work-life balance and job satisfaction: An empirical study focusing on higher education teachers in Oman. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 7(3), 164–171.

Alarcon

G. M.

, & Edwards

J. M.

(2011). The relationship of engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Stress and Health, 27(3), e294–e298.

Alhija

F. N. A.

(2015). Teacher stress and coping: The role of personal and job characteristics. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 185(13), 374–380.

Allen

T. D.

, Herst

D. E.

, Bruck

C. S.

, & Sutton

(2000). Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5(2), 278–308.

Amazue

L. O.

, & Onyishi

I. E.

(2016). Stress coping strategies, perceived organizational support and marital status as predictors of work–life balance among Nigerian bank employees. Social Indicators Research, 128(1), 147–159.

Antoniou

A. S.

, Polychroni

, & Vlachakis

A. N.

(2006). Gender and age differences in occupational stress and professional burnout between primary and high-school teachers in Greece. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(7), 682–690.

Bakker

A. B.

(2011). An evidence-based model of work engagement. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(4), 265–269.

Bakhshi

, Sudha

, & Sandhu

(2008). Impact of occupational stress on home environment: An analytical study of working women of Ludhiana city. Journal of Human Ecology, 23(3), 231–235.

10.

Belwal

, & Belwal

(2017). Employers’ perception of women workers in Oman and the challenges they face. Employee Relations, 39(7), 1048–1065.

11.

Biron

, Brun

J. P.

, & Ivers

(2008). Extent and sources of occupational stress in university staff. Work, 30(4), 511–522.

12.

Bradley

R. H.

, & Caldwell

B. M.

(1984). The HOME inventory and family demographics. Developmental Psychology, 20(2), 315–320.

13.

Burns

G. W.

(2014). Nature-guided therapy: Brief integrative strategies for health and well-being. Taylor & Francis.

14.

Byrne

, & Barling

(2017). When she brings home the job status: Wives’ job status, status leakage, and marital instability. Organization Science, 28(2), 177–192.

15.

Caplan

R. D.

(1975). Job demands and worker health: Main effects and occupational differences. US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Center for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 342.

16.

Carroll

, Forrest

, Sanders-O’Connor

, Flynn

, Bower

J. M.

, Fynes-Clinton

, York

, & Ziaei

(2022). Teacher stress and burnout in Australia: Examining the role of intrapersonal and environmental factors. Social Psychology of Education, 25, 441–469.

17.

Chakravorty

, & Singh

(2020). Work/family interference and burnout among primary school teachers: The moderating role of emotional intelligence. Decision, 47(3), 251−264.

18.

Chen

H. H.

, Hwang

F. M.

, Wang

K. L.

, Chen

C. J.

, Lai

J. C. Y.

, & Chien

L. Y.

(2013). A structural model of the influence of immigrant mothers’ depressive symptoms and home environment on their children’s early developmental outcomes in Taiwan. Research in Nursing & Health, 36(6), 603–611.

19.

Chin

W. W.

(2009). How to write up and report PLS analyses. In Vinzi

V. E.

, Chin

W. W.

, Henseler

& Wang

(Eds), Handbook of partial least squares (pp. 655–690). Springer.

20.

Cifre

, Vera

, & Signani

(2015). Women and men at work: Analyzing occupational stress and well-being from a gender perspective. Revista Puertorriqueña de Psicología, 26(2), 172–191.

21.

Collie

R. J.

, Shapka

J. D.

, & Perry

N. E.

(2012). School climate and social–emotional learning: Predicting teacher stress, job satisfaction, and teaching efficacy. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(4), 1189.

22.

Cooper

, Cooper

, & Travers

(1995). Teachers under pressure: Stress in the teaching profession (1st ed.). Routledge. 10.4324/9780203059975.

23.

Desouky

, & Allam

(2017). Occupational stress, anxiety and depression among Egyptian teachers. Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health, 7(3), 191–198.

24.

Dodanwala

T. C.

, Santoso

D. S.

, & Shrestha

(2022). The mediating role of work–family conflict on role overload and job stress linkage. Built Environment Project and Asset Management (ahead-of-print).

25.

Ekornes

(2017). Teacher stress related to student mental health promotion: The match between perceived demands and competence to help students with mental health problems. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 61(3), 333−353.

26.

Elomaa

, Eskelä-Haapanen

, Pakarinen

, Halttunen

, & Lerkkanen

M. K.

(2021). Work-related stress of elementary school principals in Finland: Coping strategies and support. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 1–21. 10.1177/17411432211010317

27.

Farmer

(2020). Teacher attrition: The impacts of stress. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 87(1), 41–50.

28.

Ferguson

, James

, & Bourgeault

(2022). Teacher mental health and leaves of absences: A pilot study examining gender and care. Canadian Journal of Education/Revue canadienne de l’éducation, 45(2), 315–349.

29.

Fila

M. J.

(2016). The job demands, control, support model: Where are we now. TKM International Journal for Research in Management, 1(1), 15–44.

30.

Fink

, & Litwin

M. S.

(1995). How to measure survey reliability and validity (Vol. 7). SAGE Publications.

31.

Ford

M. T.

, Heinen

B. A.

, & Langkamer

K. L.

(2007). Work and family satisfaction and conflict: A meta-analysis of cross-domain relations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(1), 57–80.

32.

Forlin

, & Cooper

(2013). Student behaviour and emotional challenges for teachers and parents in Hong Kong. British Journal of Special Education, 40(2), 58–64.

33.

Frazier

S. L.

, Mehta

T. G.

, Atkins

M. S.

, Glisson

, Green

P. D.

, Gibbons

R. D.

, Kim

J. B.

, Chapman

J. E.

, Schoenwald

S. K.

, Cua

, Ogle

R. R.

, & LINKS (Linking Neighborhoods, Kids, and Schools) Center. (2015). The social context of urban classrooms: Measuring student psychological climate. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 35 (5–6), 759−789.

34.

Geving

A. M.

(2007). Identifying the types of student and teacher behaviours associated with teacher stress. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(5), 624–640.

35.

Ghafar

, & Mohamed

(2016). Occupational stress: Measuring its impact on employee performance and turnover. European Journal of Business and Management, 8(21), 12–21.

36.

Gharib

, Jamil

S. A.

, Ahmad

, & Ghouse

S. M.

(2016). The impact of job stress on job performance: A case study on academic staff at Dhofar University. International Journal of Economic Research, 13(1), 21–33.

37.

, Wang

, & You

(2020). Recovery experiences moderate the impact of work stressors on well-being: A two-wave study of preschool teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(2), 189–202.

38.

Guthrie

R. M.

, & Bryant

R. A.

(2006). Extinction learning before trauma and subsequent posttraumatic stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68(2), 307–311.

39.

Hair Jr

J. F.

, Hult

G. T. M.

, Ringle

C. M.

, & Sarstedt

(2014). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). SAGE Publications.

40.

Hair Jr

J. F.

, Sarstedt

, Ringle

C. M.

, & Gudergan

S. P.

(2017). Advanced issues in partial least squares structural equation modeling. SAGE Publications.

41.

Hair

J. F.

, Ringle

C. M.

, & Sarstedt

(2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19(2), 139–152.

42.

Hart

P. M.

, & Cooper

C. L.

(2002). Occupational stress: Toward a more integrated framework. In Anderson

, Ones

D. S.

, Sinangil

H. K.

, & C Viswesvaran

(Eds.), Handbook of industrial, work and organizational psychology: Vol. 2. Personnel psychology (pp. 93–114). SAGE Publications.

43.

Henseler

, Ringle

C. M.

, & Sarstedt

(2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135.

44.

Hobman

E. V.

, Restubog

S. L. D.

, Bordia

, & Tang

R. L.

(2009). Abusive supervision in advising relationships: Investigating the role of social support. Applied Psychology, 58(2), 233–256.

45.

Hoobler

J. M.

, & Brass

D. J.

(2006). Abusive supervision and family undermining as displaced aggression. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(5), 1125–1133.

46.

Hughes

A. J.

, Daniel

S. E.

, Kilford

, & Lees

A. J.

(1992). Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease: A clinico-pathological study of 100 cases. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 55(3), 181–184.

47.

Hyland

, & Prottas

(2017). Looking at spillover from both sides: An examination of work and home flexibility and permeability. Community, Work & Family, 20(2), 181–200.

48.

Ismail

H. N.

, & Gali

(2017). Relationships among performance appraisal satisfaction, work–family conflict and job stress. Journal of Management & Organization, 23(3), 356–372.

49.

Ilies

, Schwind

K. M.

, Wagner

D. T.

, Johnson

M. D.

, DeRue

D. S.

, & Ilgen

D. R.

(2007). When can employees have a family life? The effects of daily workload and affect on work-family conflict and social behaviors at home. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(5), 1368–1379.

50.

Ismail

, & Saudin

(2014). Occupational stress and its impact on job performance. In 2014 International Conference on Information, Business and Education, Technology (ICIBET 2014) (pp. 44–47). Atlantis Press.

51.

Jeon

, Buettner

C. K.

, & Grant

A. A.

(2018). Early childhood teachers’ psychological well-being: Exploring potential predictors of depression, stress, and emotional exhaustion. Early Education and Development, 29(1), 53–69.

52.

, Wang

, & Riedl

(2021). Analysis of the correlation between occupational stress and mental health of primary and secondary school teachers. Work, 69(2), 599–611.

53.

Johnson

J. V.

, & Hall

E. M.

(1988). Job strain, work place social support, and cardiovascular disease: A cross-sectional study of a random sample of the Swedish working population. American Journal of Public Health, 78(10), 1336–1342.

54.

Johnson

J. V.

, Hall

E. M.

, & Theorell

(1989). Combined effects of job strain and social isolation on cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality in a random sample of the Swedish male working population. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 15(4), 271–279.

55.

Karasek Jr

R. A.

(1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285–308.

56.

Kourmousi

, & Alexopoulos

E. C.

(2016). Stress sources and manifestations in a nationwide sample of pre-primary, primary, and secondary educators in Greece. Frontiers in Public Health, 4, 73.

57.

Kuehn

K. W.

, & Al-Busaidi

(2002). Citizenship behavior in a non-western context: An examination of the role of satisfaction, commitment and job characteristics on self-reported OCB. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 12(2), 107–125.

58.

Kwakman

(2003). Factors affecting teachers’ participation in professional learning activities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19(2), 149–170.

59.

Kyriacou

(2001). Teacher stress: Directions for future research. Educational Review, 53(1), 27–35.

60.

Lambert

E. G.

, Qureshi

, Frank

, Klahm

, & Smith

(2018). Job stress, job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment and their associations with job burnout among Indian police officers: A research note. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 33(2), 85–99.

61.

Lambert

R. G.

, McCarthy

C. J.

, Fitchett

P. G.

, & Eyal

(2018). Examining elementary teachers’ risk for occupational stress: Associations with teacher, school, and state policy variables. Teachers College Record, 120(12), 1–42.

62.

Lambert

, Boyle

, Fitchett

, & McCarthy

(2019). Risk for occupational stress among US kindergarten teachers. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 61, 13–20.

63.

Lease

S. H.

(1999). Occupational role stressors, coping, support, and hardiness as predictors of strain in academic faculty: An emphasis on new and female faculty. Research in Higher Education, 40(3), 285–307.

64.

Leiter

M. P.

, & Durup

M. J.

(1996). Work, home, and in-between: A longitudinal study of spillover. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 32(1), 29–47.

65.

Logan

P. A.

, Gallimore

, & Jordan

(2016). Transition from clinician to academic: An interview study of the experiences of UK and Australian registered nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(3), 593–604.

66.

Madan

, & Srivastava

(2015). Employee engagement, job satisfaction and demographic relationship: An empirical study of private sector bank managers. FIIB Business Review, 4(2), 53–62.

67.

Matheny Jr

A. P.

, Wachs

T. D.

, Ludwig

J. L.

, & Phillips

(1995). Bringing order out of chaos: Psychometric characteristics of the confusion, hubbub, and order scale. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 16(3), 429–444.

68.

Matsushita

, & Yamamura

(2022). The relationship between long working hours and stress responses in junior high school teachers: A nationwide survey in Japan. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 775522.

69.

McCarthy

, Lambert

, & Ullrich

(Eds.). (2012). International perspectives on teacher stress. IAP.

70.

Montgomery

, & Rupp

A. A.

(2005). A meta-analysis for exploring the diverse causes and effects of stress in teachers. Canadian Journal of Education/Revue canadienne de l’éducation, 28(3), 458–486.

71.

Nislin

, Sajaniemi

, Suhonen

, Sims

, Hotulainen

, Hyttinen

, & Hirvonen

(2015). Work demands and resources, stress regulation and quality of pedagogical work among professionals in Finnish early childhood education settings. Journal of Early Childhood Education Research, 4(1), 42–66.

72.

Obiweluozo

P. E.

, Dike

I. C.

, Ogba

F. N.

, Elom

C. O.

, Orabueze

F. O.

, Okoye-Ugwu

, Ani

C. K.

, Onu

A. O.

, Ukaogo

, Obayi

L. N.

, Abonyi

S. E.

, & Onyishi

C. N.

(2021). Stress in teachers of children with neuro-developmental disorders: Effect of blended rational emotive behavioral therapy. Science Progress, 104(4), 1–27.

73.

Ouellette

R. R.

, Frazier

S. L.

, Shernoff

E. S.

, Cappella

, Mehta

T. G.

, Maríñez-Lora

, Cua

, & Atkins

M. S.

(2018). Teacher job stress and satisfaction in urban schools: Disentangling individual-, classroom-, and organizational-level influences. Behavior Therapy, 49(4), 494–508.

74.

Pang

I. W.

(2012). Teacher stress in working with challenging students in Hong Kong. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 11(2), 119–139.

75.

Periasamy

, Suganthi

, Karuppiah

, Gunasekaran

, Chandrabose

, Subha

K. C.

, & Thamizhvanan

(2021). Association of menstrual patterns with perceived stress score in college-going female students of a South Indian Town. Apollo Medicine, 18(2), 76–79.

76.

Perrewe

P. L.

, & Nelson

D. L.

(2004). Gender and career success: The facilitative role of political skill. Organizational Dynamics, 33(4), 366–378.

77.

Poor

A. Y.

, Ahmed

E. M.

, Ansari

F. M.

, & Movahedi

(2014). Investigating the relationship between job stress and organizational trust in Sirjan Municipality. World Applied Sciences Journal, 32(10), 2042–2047.

78.

Ramberg

, Brolin Låftman

, Åkerstedt

, & Modin

(2020). Teacher stress and students’ school well-being: The case of upper secondary schools in Stockholm. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 64(6), 816–830.

79.

Regehr

(2005). Bringing the trauma home: Spouses of paramedics. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 10(2), 97–114.

80.

Reynaldo

, Tannady

, & Nurjanah

(2022). Role of work stress and work discipline on performance of high school teachers in East Jakarta, Indonesia. International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 14(1), 1099–1104.

81.

Richards

K. A.

, Hemphill

M. A.

, & Templin

T. J.

(2018). Personal and contextual factors related to teachers’ experience with stress and burnout. Teachers and Teaching, 24(7), 768–787.

82.

Robertson

, & Dunsmuir

(2013). Teacher stress and pupil behaviour explored through a rational-emotive behaviour therapy framework. Educational Psychology, 33(2), 215–232.

83.

Sang

, Teo

S. T.

, Cooper

C. L.

, & Bohle

(2013). Modelling occupational stress and employee health and wellbeing in a Chinese higher education institution. Higher Education Quarterly, 67(1), 15–39.

84.

Schussler

D. L.

, Greenberg

, DeWeese

, Rasheed

, DeMauro

, Jennings

P. A.

, & Brown

(2018). Stress and release: Case studies of teacher resilience following a mindfulness-based intervention. American Journal of Education, 125(1), 1–28.

85.

Sekaran

, & Bougie

(2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley & Sons.

86.

Sharma

, & Kaur

(2011). Factors associated with stress among nursing students. Nursing & Midwifery Research Journal, 7(1), 12–21.

87.

Shaw

, Stringaris

, Nigg

, & Leibenluft

(2014). Emotion dysregulation in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 171(3), 276–293.

88.

Shernoff

E. S.

, Mehta

T. G.

, Atkins

M. S.

, Torf

, & Spencer

(2011). A qualitative study of the sources and impact of stress among urban teachers. School Mental Health, 3(2), 59–69.

89.

Singh

, & Ryhal

P. C.

(2021). How does servant leadership behaviour affect job satisfaction? A study on Indian Academia. FIIB Business Review, 10(1), 52–61.

90.

Skaalvik

E. M.

, & Skaalvik

(2010). Teacher self-efficacy and teacher burnout: A study of relations. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(4), 1059–1069.

91.

Sliter

M. T.

, Pui

S. Y.

, Sliter

K. A.

, & Jex

S. M.

(2011). The differential effects of interpersonal conflict from customers and coworkers: Trait anger as a moderator. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16(4), 424–440.

92.

Sok

, Blomme

, & Tromp

(2014). Positive and negative spillover from work to home: The role of organizational culture and supportive arrangements. British Journal of Management, 25(3), 456–472.

93.

Spielberger

C. D.

, & Reheiser

E. C.

(2004). Measuring anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity as emotional states and personality traits with the STAI. In Hilsenroth

M J

and Segal

D L

(Eds.), Comprehensive Handbook of Psychological Assessment, Vol. 2: Personality assessment (pp. 70–86). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

94.

Spielberger

C. D.

, Vagg

P. R.

, & Wasala

C. F.

(2003). Occupational stress: Job pressures and lack of support. In Quick

J. C.

& Tetrick

L. E.

(Eds.), Handbook of occupational health psychology (pp. 185–200). American Psychological Association.

95.

Steenbergen

E. F. van

, Ellemers

, & Mooijaart

(2007). How work and family can facilitate each other: Distinct types of work-family facilitation and outcomes for women and men. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12(3), 279–300.

96.

Taylor

, & Hart

S. A.

(2014). A chaotic home environment accounts for the association between respect for rules disposition and reading comprehension: A twin study. Learning and Individual Differences, 35, 70–77.

97.

Theorell

, Karasek

R. A.

, & Eneroth

(1990). Job strain variations in relation to plasma testosterone fluctuations in working men: A longitudinal study. Journal of Internal Medicine, 227(1), 31–36.

98.

Thomas

A. A.

(2021). An investigation of the impact of occupational stress on mental health of remote working women IT professionals in Urban Bangalore, India. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 22(6), 139–149.

99.

Tomalski

, Marczuk

, Pisula

, Malinowska

, Kawa

, & Niedźwiecka

(2017). Chaotic home environment is associated with reduced infant processing speed under high task demands. Infant Behavior and Development, 48, 124–133.

100.

Tonder

C. L. van

, & Williams

(2009). Exploring the origins of burnout among secondary educators. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 35(1), 1–15.

101.

Troesch

L. M.

, & Bauer

C. E.

(2017). Second career teachers: Job satisfaction, job stress, and the role of self-efficacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 389–398.

102.

Vagg

P. R.

, Spielberger

C. D.

, & Wasala

C. F.

(2002). Effects of organizational level and gender on stress in the workplace. International Journal of Stress Management, 9(4), 243–261.

103.

Varughese

T. E.

, Hoyt

C. R.

, L’Hotta

A. J.

, Ikemenogo

P. A.

, Howdeshell

S. G.

, Housten

A. J.

, Abel

R. A.

, & King

A. A.

(2020). Stress and the home environment in caregivers of children with sickle cell. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 45(5), 521–529.

104.

von der Embse

N. P.

, Schultz

B. K.

, & Draughn

J. D.

(2015). Readying students to test: The influence of fear and efficacy appeals on anxiety and test performance. School Psychology International, 36(6), 620–637.

105.

Voydanoff

(2004). The effects of work demands and resources on work-to-family conflict and facilitation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66(2), 398–412.

106.

Watts

, & Robertson

(2011). Burnout in university teaching staff: A systematic literature review. Educational Research, 53(1), 33–50.

107.

Wei

, Shujuan

, & Qibo

(2011). Resilience and social support as moderators of work stress of young teachers in engineering college. Procedia Engineering, 24, 856–860.

108.

Westman

(2006). Crossover of stress and strain in the work-family context. In Jones

, Burke

R. J.

& Westman

(Eds), Work–life balance: A psychological perspective (pp. 163–184). Psychology Press.

109.

Winefield

A. H.

, Gillespie

, Stough

, Dua

, Hapuarachchi

, & Boyd

(2003). Occupational stress in Australian university staff: Results from a national survey. International Journal of Stress Management, 10(1), 51.

110.

World Health Organization. (2005). Mental health atlas 2005. Department of Mental Health, Substance Abuse, World Health Organization, World Health Organization. Mental Health Evidence, & Research Team.

111.

, Chi

T. S.

, Chen

L. I.

, Wang

, & Jin

Y. P.

(2010). Occupational stress among hospital nurses: Cross-sectional survey. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(3), 627–634.

112.

T. Y.

, & Hu

(2009). Abusive supervision and employee emotional exhaustion: Dispositional antecedents and boundaries. Group & Organization Management, 34(2), 143–169.

113.

Xie

, Wang

, & Chen

(2011). Nurse burnout and its association with occupational stress in a cross-sectional study in Shanghai. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 67(7), 1537–1546.