Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes
2023, Vol. 13, No. 3 e-ISSN: 1390-8146
Published by: Universidad Técnica Luis Vargas Torres
How to cite this article (APA):
Betancourt, S., Verdezoto, C., Matute, G., Cardenas, I. (2023) Work stress
and its impact on the behavior of teachers at the "18 de octubre" Educational Unit in the city of
Quevedo, Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes, 13(3) 14-24
Work stress and its impact on the behavior of teachers at the "18 de
octubre" Educational Unit in the city of Quevedo
Estrés Laboral y su repercusión en la conducta de los docentes de la Unidad Educativa
“18 de octubre” de la ciudad de Quevedo
Shirley Vanessa Betancourt Zambrano
Msc. Universidad Técnica Estatal de Quevedo UTEQ, Quevedo - Ecuador, sbetancourtz@uteq.edu.ec,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0869-5367
Carmen Lisbeth Verdezoto Michuy
Msc. Universidad Técnica Estatal de Quevedo UTEQ, Quevedo - Ecuador, cverdezotom@uteq.edu.ec
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4570-5325
Gabriela Natalia Matute Plaza
Msc. Universidad Técnica Estatal de Quevedo UTEQ, Quevedo - Ecuador, gmatutep@uteq.edu.ec,
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0057-4082
Cardenas Loor Isabel Alexandra
Msc. Universidad Técnica Estatal de Quevedo UTEQ, Quevedo - Ecuador, icardenasl@uteq.edu.ec
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9791-3679
The WHO considers work-related stress to be the new pandemic in
the 21st century. The educational system had a great impact from
2020 onwards due to the pandemic caused by covid-19, work
demands increased and with it stress. Currently, constant changes,
interpersonal relationships, parental demands and adaptation to
technology continue to be factors that cause stress in teachers. The
study was carried out in the "18 de Octubre" Educational Unit located
in the city of Quevedo. The main objective is to determine the impact
of work stress on the behavior of teachers of the Educational Unit. The
study was conducted under a descriptive observational type of
research, measuring the variables through data collection. The
population consisted of a total of 21 teachers; as an instrument,
surveys with closed but relevant questions were applied to obtain
Abstract
Received 2023-05-02
Revised 2023-07-11
Published 2023-09-07
Corresponding Author
Betancourt Zambrano Shirley
Vanessa
sbetancourtz@uteq.edu.ec
Pages: 14-24
https://creativecommons.org/lice
nses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Distributed under
Copyright: © The Author(s)
Work stress and its impact on the behavior of teachers at the "18 de octubre" Educational Unit in
the city of Quevedo
Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2023/ , Vol. 13, No. 3
15
information. The results show that there is emotional exhaustion and
work fatigue on the part of the teachers.
Keywords:
work stress, teachers, work behavior, work behavior
Resumen
La OMS considera que el estrés laboral es la nueva pandemia en el
siglo XXI. El sistema educativo tuvo un gran impacto a partir del 2020
debido a la pandemia por el covid-19, las exigencias laborales
aumentaron y con ello el estrés. Actualmente, los constantes cambios,
relaciones interpersonales, exigencia de los padres y la adaptación a
la tecnología siguen siendo factores que provocan estrés en los
docentes. El estudio se desarrolla en la Unidad Educativa “18 de
octubre” ubicada en la ciudad de Quevedo. El objetivo principal es
determinar la repercusión del estrés laboral en la conducta de los
docentes de la Unidad Educativa. El estudio se realizó bajo un tipo
de investigación de carácter descriptiva de tipo observacional
midiendo las variables mediante la recolección de datos. La
población fue de un total de 21 docentes, como instrumento, se
aplicó encuestas con preguntas cerradas pero relevantes para la
obtención de información. Los resultados evidencian que existe un
desgaste emocional y cansancio laboral por parte de los docentes.
Palabras clave:
estrés laboral, docentes, conducta laboral
Introduction
Currently the issue of work stress has transcended much in all areas of
work as a result of the pandemic and due to the promotion of the
importance of mental health care, this has generated greater interest
in various factors that cause emotional, mental and physical imbalance
in people. By taking work stress as an important phenomenon in all
areas of work, especially in the educational area, we would be giving
importance to the welfare of the people who make up the institution.
As we know, teachers are exposed to situations of great responsibility
and commitments of the profession, including current educational
changes such as adaptation to technology, interpersonal
relationships, student noise and demands of parents and superiors;
Work stress and its impact on the behavior of teachers at the "18 de octubre" Educational Unit in
the city of Quevedo
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this brings with it a change in the natural behavior of the teacher
causing less interest and little commitment to their profession.
When an individual experiences job stress, they may have difficulty
concentrating, making decisions, solving problems and performing
complex tasks, which in turn can affect their job performance and their
ability to fulfill their responsibilities. The changes may be different for
each person, it is important to recognize them in order to seek
immediate help before the stress reaches its chronic stage known as
Burnout syndrome, as this impact not only has an impact on the
mental health but also on the physical health of the teacher.
In addition, chronic stress can increase the likelihood of developing
mental and physical disorders, which in turn can negatively affect their
well-being and their ability to maintain appropriate behavior at work.
Therefore, it is important to understand the relationship between job
stress and work behavior in order to implement effective measures to
prevent and manage job stress in teachers and improve their job
performance. In the educational context, (Rodriguez, Guevara, &
Viramontes) consider that women are more likely to suffer greater
emotional fatigue than men because they play two roles with different
functions: the role of mother at home and the role of teacher; this in
turn, generates a negative impact on behavior and an impact on
students, because teachers are a role model and an authority.
It is inevitable that stress does not exist, since in many occasions it is
beneficial because it allows us to face new challenges and problems
by testing our knowledge and skills to learn new subjects and develop
ourselves in a better way enhancing learning; however, not having the
balance between work demands and our capabilities, skills and
knowledge generates an emotional and psychological imbalance
causing work stress. This research aims to report on this phenomenon
and to support the generation of strategies that can improve the work
environment of teachers at the "18 de Octubre" Educational Unit.
Methodology
Research methods allow us to correctly develop an investigation using
techniques and strategies to achieve the pre-established objectives.
The research methods used are: Deductive-Inductive. The inductive
method is a type of reasoning that explores specific knowledge to
obtain a general understanding of the subject under investigation; on
Work stress and its impact on the behavior of teachers at the "18 de octubre" Educational Unit in
the city of Quevedo
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the other hand, the deductive method consists of extracting premises
from a general conclusion. The application of deductive-inductive
reasoning was very useful for the development of the research,
allowing to obtain knowledge and theories in a global and specific
way.
The research techniques in the collection of information are
procedures and instruments used to collect, order and analyze the
data obtained through the instrument applied. The interview was
used as a research technique and the questionnaire was used as an
instrument to obtain data with closed questions proposed by the
author with options of "never", "maybe" and "always". The
population consisted of the teachers of the Educational Unit, a sample
of 21 teachers of the morning session was taken, including the
principal of the school.
Results
A sample of 21 teachers of the "18 de octubre" Educational Unit of
the San Camilo parish in the city of Quevedo was analyzed by means
of a 10-item questionnaire with closed questions in order to
determine the impact of stress on the behavior of educational
personnel.
Table 1.
I feel emotionally drained by my job
N° Persons
Percentage
Never
8
38%
Sometimes
13
62%
Always
0
0%
Total
21
100%
The table shows the highest scored response is "Sometimes" with
62%, followed by the "Never" option with 38%, which means that
more than half of the sample feels emotionally drained by work.
Table 2.
I feel tired at the end of my working day.
N° Persons
Percentage
Never
5
24%
Sometimes
15
71%
Work stress and its impact on the behavior of teachers at the "18 de octubre" Educational Unit in
the city of Quevedo
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18
Always
1
5%
Total
21
100%
Seventy-one percent of the sample states that they sometimes feel
tired at the end of the workday; 24% consider that they never feel
tired and finally 5% focus on always feeling tired; that is, most of the
respondents feel tired at the end of the workday.
Table 3.
I believe that my work causes negative changes in my
behavior.
N° Persons
Percentage
Never
20
95%
Sometimes
1
5%
Always
0
0%
Total
21
100%
The majority of the respondents (95%) interpret that they have never
felt that work causes negative changes in their behavior; however, 5%
indicate that sometimes they do have negative changes in their
behavior due to work activities. Thus, work activities do not generate
any negative changes that have an impact on work behavior.
Table 4.
I think my job is hardening me emotionally.
N° Persons
Percentage
Never
18
86%
Sometimes
2
10%
Always
1
5%
Total
21
100%
According to the rating in this question, 86% of the respondents
consider that work is not hardening them emotionally; however, 9%
consider that sometimes they think that they do have this emotional
hardening; and, finally, 5% affirm that they do think that work hardens
their emotions.
Work stress and its impact on the behavior of teachers at the "18 de octubre" Educational Unit in
the city of Quevedo
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Table 5.
I feel that the constant (technological) changes cause me
stress and impair my work behavior.
N° Persons
Percentage
Never
15
71%
Sometimes
6
29%
Always
0
0%
Total
21
100%
Table 5 shows that 71% of the respondents consider that
technological changes do not cause any type of stress; followed by
29%, who indicate that sometimes they do feel stress in the face of
these changes; that is, that these technological advances rarely
influence the appearance of stress.
According to the table above, 57% of the respondents answered that
stressful situations in the institution do not provoke feelings of stress;
however, 43% affirmed that the situations do generate feelings of
stress. This indicates that stress is generated by various stressful
situations that arise in the institution.
Table 6.
I feel that I can easily create a pleasant atmosphere with my
students.
N° Persons
Percentage
Never
1
5%
Sometimes
3
14%
Always
17
81%
Total
21
100%
The ease of creating a pleasant climate in the classroom is
represented by 81%, 14% of the respondents consider that on certain
occasions it is easy to create a good climate and, finally, 5%
responded that they are never able to create a pleasant climate with
their students. It is important that all teachers have the ability to create
a good classroom climate, so it is necessary to intervene in an
improvement plan.
Work stress and its impact on the behavior of teachers at the "18 de octubre" Educational Unit in
the city of Quevedo
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Table 7.
I feel that parents do not value the teaching job positively.
N° Persons
Percentage
Never
5
24%
Sometimes
14
67%
Always
2
10%
Total
21
100%
The majority of the respondents, 67%, say that they do not feel that
parents do not value their work; 24% explain that they do feel that
parents sometimes do not value the work of teachers and, finally, 9%
consider that they always feel that parents devalue their work, which
suggests the need to work on aspects of collaboration between
parents and teachers to recover harmony and union between both
parties. It can be deduced that the work of teaching does have a
notable influence on physical and emotional wear and tear, with 52%
of those surveyed indicating that working with students involves great
effort and fatigue; on the other hand, 48% indicate that they do not
have these types of feelings. The majority of respondents 62% say
that they feel motivated after work; on the other hand, 38% say that
they sometimes feel motivated after work.
Conclusions
At the end of this research it is concluded that there is a close
relationship between stress and work behavior; being a direct
determinant in the performance of teachers, the statistical data
obtained gave us the result that there are situations that generate
stress in teachers, although these statistical results are not significant
to establish an immediate strategy for improvement, similarly, it is
proposed a monitoring of teachers in order to avoid and reduce stress
in certain people.
The importance of the study data collected revealed that there is
emotional exhaustion and fatigue among teachers, in addition to the
lack of cooperation from parents and certain situations of tension in
the work environment; factors that mostly have an impact on the
appearance of stress in teachers. On the other hand, the advance of
technologies is not a direct factor in the generation of stress; it should
Work stress and its impact on the behavior of teachers at the "18 de octubre" Educational Unit in
the city of Quevedo
Revista Científica Interdisciplinaria Investigación y Saberes , / 2023/ , Vol. 13, No. 3
21
be emphasized that most of the respondents (95%) stated that they
have not presented negative changes in their behavior due to stress.
From a qualitative point of view, the data do not generate great
concern, however, safety also lies in prevention in order to avoid
serious long-term consequences such as the appearance of Burnout
syndrome, which is very common in the educational work
environment. As part of a strategy for change, which could be
implemented in the future, an action plan is proposed, structured with
methods for controlling emotions, establishing work limits,
encouraging good eating habits and physical activity, tips for creating
a pleasant climate in the classroom, encouraging the learning of ICT's
and giving recognition for good work performance.
It is recommended that the authorities or administrative personnel
have a real commitment to the importance of analysis, study and
monitoring of stress in workers; in turn, implementing the action plan
to mitigate the effects through lectures, conferences, work meetings
or educational activities, where it is explained and awareness is raised
about the importance of maintaining a healthy life including the
physical and emotional part; once the plan is implemented, a follow-
up is proposed through evaluation questionnaires in order to keep
track of the level of stress and in case of an increase, to act
immediately.
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