1. STRESS

2. INTRODUCTION
Organizational performance measures include organizational productivity and organizational effectiveness.
Leaders should encourage high performance work practices that lead to both high individual and organizational performance.
In other words, school effectiveness is a measure of how well a school is achieving its’ goal. One reason for ineffectiveness of schools is that they are managed with the wrong theory in mind (Weick, 1982)

3. Examples of these high practices are:
Self- directed work teams
Job rotations
High levels of training skills
Problem solving groups
Quality management procedures and processes
Encouraging innovative and creative teacher behaviors
Teacher involvement and training
Implementation of teacher suggestions
Coaching and mentoring
Information sharing

4. Teacher stress and performance: How school leaders can help?
Stress is a taste of tension experienced by teachers facing extraordinary demands, constraints or opportunities. Teachers who perceive a good fit between job requirements and personal skills seems to have a higher tolerance for stress than teachers who feel less competent as a result of a person- job mismatch. Two types of stress faced by teachers are constructive and destructive stress.
Constructive stress has a positive impact on both teachers’ attitude and performance. It occurs at moderate stress levels by prompting increased work efforts, stimulating creativity, and encouraging greater diligence.
Destructive stress or distress has a negative impact on both teachers’ attitude and performance. If teachers face too much stress, the job burnout will happen. Even teacher is ‘burned out’ if he or she fells exhausted emotionally and physically, and thus unable to deal positively with work responsibilities and opportunities.
The positive and negative effects of stress are most apparent in the relationship between stress and performance. The following figure depicts the general stress- performance relationship. At low levels of stress, employees may not be sufficiently alert, challenged or involved to perform at their best. As the curve indicates, increasing a low amount of stress may improve performance, but only up to a point. An optimal level of stress probably exists for most tasks. Beyond that point, performance begins to decline as illustrated below (Dunham 1992).

5. Relationship Between Stress And Performance
(Source: Chapter 1: Leadership in Relation to School Productivity, Stress and School Climate by Zaidatol Akmaliah & Amir. In Educational Leadership Performance & Improvement Universiti Putra Malaysia Press)

6. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESSORS AND STRESS
Perception
Past experience
Social support
Individual difference
The Environment
The Individual
(Source: Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman (2001). Organizational Behavior, 9th Ed., p. 193)

7. SOURCES OF WORK STRESS Stressor Perception Past experience Workload
Job Condition
Role Conflict and Ambiguity
Career Development
Workload
Interpersonal Relations
Aggressive Behavior
Conflict between Work and Other Roles
Perception
Past experience
Social support
Individual difference
Stress
Stressor
(Source: Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman (2001). Organizational Behavior, 9th Ed., p. 196)

8. Common Sources And Suggested Causes Of Teachers’ Stress
Job mismatch
Job demands the skills or abilities that teachers do not possess ( job incomplete).
Job does not provide opportunity for the teachers to fully utilize skills or abilities (underutilization).
Conflicting expectation
The formal organization’s concept of expected behavior contradicts teachers concept of expected behavior.
The informal group’s concept of expected behavior contradicts teachers’ concept.
The individual teacher is affected by two ( or more) strong influences.
Role ambiguity
Teachers are uncertain or unclear about how to perform the job
Teachers are uncertain or unclear about what is expected on the job.
Teacher are uncertain and unclear about what is the relationship between job performance and expected consequences ( reward, penalties, and so forth)

9. Common sources Suggested causes
Role overload
Teachers are incompetent at the job.
Teachers are asked to do more than time permits ( time pressure)
Fear/ responsibility
Teachers are afraid of performing poorly or failing.
Teachers feel pressure for high achievement
Alienation
There is limited social interaction. Teachers do not participate in decision making.
The job environment is unpleasant; there is inadequate lighting or improper regulation of temperature and noise, for example.
Working conditions
The requirements of the job may unnecessarily produce pacing problems, social isolation, and so forth
The machine design and maintenance procedures create pressure.
The job involves long or erratic work hours.
Working relationship
Individual teachers have problems relating to, and/ or working with superiors, peers, and / or subordinates.
Teachers have problems with working in groups

10. What Are The Symptoms Of Teachers’ Stress?
Physical symptoms:
Changes in metabolism
Increase in heart beat and breathing rates
Raised blood pressure
Headaches
Potential of heart attack and etc
Psychological symptoms:
Job related
Tension
Anxiety
Instability
Boredom
Behavioral symptoms:
Changes in productivity
Absenteeism
Job turnover
Changes in eating habits
Sleep disorder and etc

11. Individual strategy for stress management
Stress management refers to any program that reduces stress by helping people to understand the stress responses, recognize stressors and use coping techniques to minimize the negative impact of stress Designed to eliminate or control sources of stress and improve the person’s ability to cope
A person can manage stress by:
Planning ahead and practicing good time management
Having good personal health management practices
Maintaining a positive perspective
Balancing work life and personal life
Learning a relaxation technique
(Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman, 2001, p.210)
(Source: Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman (2001). Organizational Behavior, 9th Ed., p. 210)

12. TARGETS of ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
Stress management by organizations is degined to reduce the harmful effects of stress in three ways:
Identify and then modify or eliminate work stressors
Help employees modify their perception and understanding of work stress
Help employees cope more effectively with the consequences of stress.
(Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman, 2001, p.211)
(Source: Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman (2001). Organizational Behavior, 9th Ed., p. 212)

13. Organizational Stress Management Initiatives
Designed to:
Identify and modify or eliminate work stressors
Help employees modify perception of work stress
Help employees cope with the consequences of stress
Organizations can manage stress by:
Reducing work stressors
Modifying behaviors
Creating wellness programs
Organizational Stress Management Initiatives for Reducing Stressors Improvements in the physical work environment
Job design
Changes in workloads and deadlines
Changes in work schedules, more flexible hours, and sabbaticals
Increased employee participation
Organizational Stress Management Initiatives for Modifying Behaviors
Team building
Career counseling and other employee assistance programs
Time management workshops
Job burnout workshops
Training in relaxation techniques

14. IMPACTS OF EMPLOYEE CONTROL & AMOUNT of WORK STRESS
The diagram shows the relationships commonly observed between work stressors and an individual’s control over his or her work.
Note that the greatest stress occurs when jobs are high in stressors and low in controllability.
Thus involvement of employees in organizational change efforts that will affect them, work redesign that reduces uncertainty and increase control and less stress is to give individuals more control over their time.
(Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman, 2001,p.212)
Moderate stress
Low stress
High stress
Low to moderate stress
Amount of Work Stressors
Employee Control Over Work
High
Low
(Source: Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman (2001). Organizational Behavior, 9th Ed., p. 214)