How Gender and Working Conditions Affect Occupational Stress and Job Satisfaction of General Education’s Preschool and Elementary Teachers in Greek Public Schools

Abstract

Stress is considered as an accretive psychosocial peril, which has its source in multiple factors and it is considered responsible for many serious diseases. Lately stress appears as a very important and complex problem that needs to be faced both in personal and working relations. There are few researches in Greece concerning teachers’ stress and job satisfaction. For that reason, in this particular study, we examined the working conditions’ effect on stress and therefore on job satisfaction of 172 Primary and Elementary teachers of General Education in Greek public schools using a relevant weighted questionnaire. In addition, we examined the correlation between gender and occupational stress. The greater purpose of the study was to shed light onto the relation of working conditions to stress and job satisfaction. The t-test showed that stress levels do not differ between the two genders in opposition to our primary hypothesis and previous studies. We used Pearson r coefficient, which did not confirm either the correlation between negative working conditions or the correlation between stress and low job satisfaction and that leads to the need of the matter’s further investigation. The fact that gender and working conditions do not affect occupational stress and job satisfaction may be indicative of the need of a more complex approach in understanding these variables.