Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies among Expatriate Teachers in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study investigates the perceived level of stressors and coping strategies among the faculty of higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia. The faculty stress index (FSI) and a coping strategies questionnaire were used for the collection of data from faculty members. The FSI has five subscales. The higher the score on each of the subscales, the greater would be the stress experienced and perceived by the respondents. The coping strategies are subdivided into seven subscales. The data was collected from 100 faculty members from various institutions in Saudi Arabia. The findings reveal that faculty members with different job titles are experiencing varying levels of stress on each subscale. Three groups of faculty, assistant professor, lecturers, and instructors were significantly different on a reward & recognition subscale of FSI and regarding their viewpoints on tenure. Some coping strategies are found related considerably with the FSI subscale score. There are a few similar studies on Saudi Arabia in the health sector only. This study contributes to the literature by providing insight into perceived stress in the Higher education sector of Saudi Arabia.

Assessment of stress among pharmacy educators: Validation of the faculty stress index and 2-year cross-sectional follow-up in a Lebanese pharmacy school

“…Furthermore, the study was able to upgrade the FSI in consistency with published literature (Iqbal & Kokash, 2011;Parveen, 2013;Tan, 2017;Syed et al, 2020). The current upgraded version used in this analysis includes an additional area for satisfaction with online courses, which was not present in the previous versions of the FSI, and which appeared necessary to add given the shift to remote education that accompanied the pandemic.…”

“…Stress is a modern-day phenomenon that occurs in a wide range of work settings and is an essential part of employees' lives (Mustafa et al, 2015;Syed et al, 2020). It can be either positive or negative where positive stress, known as "eustress," is believed to be vital for performance as it gives employees energy and motivates them to strive, while negative stress, also called "distress" possesses harmful effects on the employees (Gupta et al, 2015).…”

“…According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), occupational stress is defined as "harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources and needs of the worker" (Girma et al, 2021). Over the past 30 years, workplace stress has gained substantial and growing attention and is considered one of the most difficult issues in Stress is no longer limited to certain professions and could extend to the teaching profession (Syed et al, 2020). Studies showed growing evidence that educators are experiencing high levels of stress (Agai-Demjaha et al, 2015;Kavita & Hassan, 2018;Wettstein et al, 2021).…”

“…The FSI has been used in numerous studies to examine the factors that contribute to faculty stress and to evaluate interventions aimed at reducing stress levels. The tool represents a reliable and valid measure of faculty stress and has contributed to a better understanding of the challenges faculty members face in higher education (Iqbal & Kokash, 2011;Parveen, 2013;Tan, 2017;Syed et al, 2020). To the authors' knowledge, exploring faculty stress and coping strategies among pharmacy educators has not been previously addressed among Lebanese pharmacy schools and perhaps very rarely in Lebanese higher education institutions in general.…”