PSYCHOLOGICAL STRAIN AMONG ACADEMIC STAFF IN EASTERN SAUDI ARABIA

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1 PSYCHOLOGICAL STRAIN AMONG ACADEMIC STAFF IN EASTERN SAUDI ARABIA Abd Al-Aziz Al- Mutawa, Malek Jdaitawi, Wael Saleh, & Abdel Monim Awwad Deanship of Preparatory Year and Supporting Studies University of Dammam ABSTRACT Work is a general terminology applied for various occupations. In the present study, factors that influence strain among 217 university lecturers in Dammam, Saudi Arabia are explored. The sample study was comprised of mostly foreign male lecturers. Analysis was conducted through descriptive statistics, frequency, t-test and ANOVA. The resulting findings revealed no significant differences on the lecturers level of strain on the basis of their gender, age, education level, work experience, nationality, income level and faculty. The results were discussed and limitations provided. Field of Research: Psychological strain, academic staff, gender, individual characteristics Introduction Work is a general terminology that is used to describe different types of occupations. It is a fundamental condition for most people and is a critical element of the environment for human survival. In addition, it is the main element in the development of both individual and economy. Majority of adults spend most of their lives in activities that are work related. Therefore, it is a natural occurrence to experience work related stress or strain of the body/mind if there is no way to release the pent up feelings. Many studies revealed that occupational stress can result in different negative outcomes for the individual in the workplace (Oginska-Bulik, 2006). Work related stress is generally referred to as psychological strain while psychological strain is described as psychological results that are manifested in reaction to demands of the organization (e.g. lack of concentration, loss of sense of worth, depression) representing what is generally conceived of as stress in these situations. According to Winnubst (1993), strain is multiple process of behavioral, physiological and psychological factors occurring under the influence of stress which destroys normal function. Meanwhile, strain was defined by Lee and Ashforth (1996) as affective feeling states of individuals characterized by decreased emotional resources and lack of energy. Similarly, Idris (2011) contended that psychological strain is a specific type of emotional distress that stems from a reaction to a situation that involves perceived threat to one s well-being. 1.2 Problem Statement The educational process is normally deemed among the key factors forming the pillars of the individual s development and progress and it is the core to the country s development. Based on this belief, countries stress on their educational process for investment. This is evident in higher educational systems that stress on their dedication to provide the fundamental requirements of the process of learning and teaching in every aspect. Currently, a developed nation is one that is characterized by the number and quality of its higher education institutions. These institutions are representatives of the spirit of the country s culture as they are considered to encompass the primary elements of the country s progress in different fields; for example, technology, literature, science and other intellectual fields. On the basis of current global studies dedicated to stress among academics, the phenomenon of occupational stress among universities is generally rampant Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA. Organized by 103

2 (Winefield, 2000). Several studies revealed that occupational stress among academics and administrative staff of universities is generally of considerable level (Michailidis, 2008; and Thorsen, 1996). In the U.K., Kinman (2001) reviewed occupational stressors and strain among academics in universities. He found that compared to other professionals and community samples, academic staff feel less job satisfaction and significant low degrees of psychological health. This situation is also prevalent in Saudi Arabia where several studies confirmed that university staff displayed moderate to high degrees of job stress (Iqbal and Kokash, 2011). Therefore, psychological strain and their perceived effect on university lecturers are examined in the present study. Specifically, the researcher attempts to study the psychological strain and the impact of demographic variables on psychological strain among university lecturers in Dammam University, Saudi Arabia. 2. Literature Review According to Winnubst (1993), strain is a multi-process of behavioral, physiological and psychological aspects occurring under the influence of stress and it disturbs the normal function of an individual. This may lead to several adverse outcomes which include cynicism, decreased professional efficacy, decreased commitment to the organization and increased intention to leave (Idris, 2009). On the basis of Huda, Rusli, Naing, Tengku, Winn and Rampal s (2004) study of job strain and dissatisfaction among lecturers, the correlation between strain and dissatisfaction was revealed and psychological job demands was found to be significantly related with job dissatisfaction. They also revealed that decision authority protected individuals against job dissatisfaction. In the U.S., Jang (2007) revealed that African American women were more inclined to complain about strain associated to physical health, interpersonal relations and gender roles in the family and were less inclined to talk about work-related strain and strain stemming from racial discrimination compared to their male counterparts. In a similar study, Anitha Devi (2007) identified the level of life stress and role stress felt by female professionals. The sample study comprised of 180 female professionals working in six occupations. The results showed that elder individuals experienced lower life and role stress while younger people experienced higher stress. However, the results also showed the greater the number of tenure in the organization, the greater is the life and role stress, and the lower the income the greater the stress experienced. Along the same line of study, Reddy and Ramamurthy (1991) conducted an analysis of the impact of age on stress experience. The sample study comprised of 200 executives and the results showed that executives in the age group of experienced higher stress compared to those in the age group of years. Meanwhile, Been and Poduval s (1992) study involved a sample of 80 executives comprising of 40 females and 40 males in various organizations. They revealed that with the increase in age, stress experience also increases owing to the executives responsibilities. Moreover, female executives displayed greater levels of stress because they are proven to experience greater among of work change compared to their male counterparts. Furthermore, age, sex, coping strategies of bank employees were not found to impact occupational stress in Aminabhavi and Triveni s (2000) study. Similarly, Virk et al. (2001) carried out a study on occupational stress and work motivation and their associations to age, job level and type-a behavior. They revealed that age and job levels strongly impacts job stress. On the other hand, Rastogi and Kashyap (2003) studied occupational stress and work adjustment among female professionals involving a sample of 150 nurses, clerks and teachers. The respondents were matured and experienced, and as such, these characteristics assisted them in coping with stressing and maintaining the smooth adjustment in the organization. Also, Bhatia and Kumar (2005) examined occupational stress and burnout in industrial employees. The sample involved 100 supervisors and below supervisor level with age range of years and years. Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA. Organized by 104

3 Based on their results, the industrial employees at the rank of supervisor and below this rank from the higher age group perceived more occupational stress compared to other age groups. In addition, the nature and extent of stress in the context of agriculture university teachers were studied by Ansari (1991). His sample comprised of 235 respondents consisting of 30 professors, 74 associate professors and 135 assistant professors. Based on the results, the correlation between the nature of stress and qualifications of teachers in various cadres were not significant. Moreover, the examination of the correlation of job stress and burnout among 100 faculty members from two universities were examined by Chand and Monga (2007). They found that higher education can handle stress and burnout issues. Upadhayay and Singh (1999) also investigated the degree of occupational stress perceived by 20 college teachers and 20 executives. The executives reported higher levels of stress compared to the teachers in light of role overload, role ambiguity, role conflict. Similarly, Gar and Dhawan (2000) studied the relationship between work related stressors and adaptation patterns among female professionals. The study involved 120 women professionals divided as follows; 30 teachers, 30 doctors, 30 bank officers and 30 bureaucrats). The result revealed that the four professional groups shared almost the same stress levels with the exception of career development and stressors. Meanwhile, Anitha Devi (2007) identified the level of life stress and role stress perceived by professional women. Her study involved a sample of 180 female professionals who belong to six occupations. The result revealed that science and technology professionals and doctors experienced considerably higher life and role stress compared to other professionals. This group is followed by administrators and self-employed professionals. Additionally, teachers and bankers experienced the less tress in both role stress and life stress. Furthermore, Bhagawan (1997) carried out a study with the participation of 100 teachers chosen from 20 schools in Orissa. The sample consisted of 100 teachers divided as follows; 53 male and 47 female teachers). According to the results, higher teaching experience equated lesser perceived burnout. Occupational stress and burnout in the context of industrial employees were examined by Bhatia and Kumar (2005) and their study sample comprised of 100 employees working as supervisors and below supervisor level with tenure from 2-6 years and 7-12 years. The results showed that industrial employees in the mentioned levels with higher tenure experienced higher occupational stress owing to a feeling of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion. 2.1 Objectives of the Study The present study extends literature dedicated to psychological strain in the context of universities. The study s overall objective is to examine the various levels of psychological strain among university lecturers. Specifically, the study objectives are listed as follows; 1. To determine the various levels of psychological strain on the basis of lecturers gender. 2. To examine the various levels of psychological strain on the basis of lecturers age groups. 3. To determine the levels of psychological strain on the basis of lecturers work experience. 4. To determine the various levels of psychological strain on the basis of lecturers nationality. 5. To examine the various levels of psychological strain among lecturers on the basis of levels of education. 6. To determine the various levels of psychological strain on the basis of lecturers faculty. 7. To study the various levels of psychological strain among lecturers on the basis of their income levels. 3. Study Methodology 3.1 Study Design Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA. Organized by 105

4 The present study employed the survey design involving a large number of persons describing the characteristics of the population through unbiased sampling. 3.2 Study Sample The target population consisted of lecturers in the institution of higher learning in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The researcher obtained a written informed consent for the distribution of survey after which the participants numbering 217 were chosen through stratified sampling method. The sample consisted of 168 men and 49 women. 3.3 Study Measures The following measures were used for the study variables; strain was measured through Goldsberg s (1978) GHQ12. This measure used a five point likert scale ranging from 1-strongly disagree to 5- strongly agree. The initial items were examined by 9 experts from higher education. The final copy of the items was confirmed to have content validity. As for reliability, the Cronbach s Alpha for the variable strain is Data Analysis The primary objectives of this exploratory study are to examine the relationship of strain to individual differences of the sample chosen from public university in Saudi Arabia. The study utilized the cross-sectional survey design and the sample consisted of lecturers from five faculties from the said university. The lecturers information including their gender, age, educational level, work experience, nationality, income level and faculty are displayed in Table 1. As for the sample s gender, 168 (77.4%) were male respondents and the remaining 49 (22.6%) were female respondents. Their ages range from 25 years old to 51 years old. Majority of them were in the age group of years old (48.40%), and the least were in the age group of years old (11.1%). In addition, most of the respondents were foreigners (79.3%) and the remaining (20.7%) were locals. As for their experience, the majority group (62.2%) was lecturers and the least was professors (3.7%). Their tenure showed that 41% of the lecturers had 1-5 years of experience, 26.7% of the lecturers had 6-10 years of experience, 16.1% had years of experience and 16.1% had 15 years of experience. 33 lecturers taught in the faculty of medicine, 40 in the faculty of engineering, 70 in applied science, 40 from the female faculty and 34 from other faculties. Most of the lecturers (82%) earned over SR8000 a month. Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of Participants Gender Male % Female % Age Year % years % years % Above Work Experience 1-5 years % 6-10 years % years % Above 15 years % Educational Level Professor 8 3.7% Associate Professor % Professor Assistant % Lecturer % Income Level RS 4 1.8% RS % Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA. Organized by 106

5 More than 8001RS % Nationality Saudian % Non-Saudian % College Medicine % Engineering % Applied Sciences % Female Faculty % Others % Initially, the data was tested for normality and outliers. The level of strain was identified through descriptive statistics. In addition independent sample t-test was utilized in order to compare the mean scores of strain for male and female university lecturers. The difference between the scores is presented in Table 2. Analysis of t-test revealed no significant difference with t value =.922, p > 0.05, indicating the equality between the two groups. Table 2: T-Test Result Differences of Gender on Strain Factor Gender N M SD Mean Diff df Sig- (2-taild) Strain Male Female With regards to the differences in strain level on the basis of their ages, a one way ANOVA and a post-hoc tukey test were utilized to compare the mean scores of strain. The difference of strain level on the basis of age is depicted in Table 3. No significant difference was shown by ANOVA test results in the strain level of the lecturers according to their age groups with F=0.308 (.819; p> 0.05) indicating no difference in the strain level among age groups. Table 3: ANOVA Results of Strain based on Age Groups Variable The next step involved the use of a one way ANOVA and a post-hoc tukey test to compare the mean scores of strain on the basis of work experience (Table 4). No significant difference was revealed based on work experience with F=0.39 (0.990). Table 4: ANOVA Results of Strain based on Work Experience Groups Variable Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA. Organized by 107

6 The mean scores of the strain level on the basis of the lecturers educational level was also examined through the same techniques (Table 5). No significant difference was also found in strain level based on educational qualifications of the respondents with F=0.111 (.954). Table 5: ANOVA Results of Strain based on Educational Level Groups Variable On the basis of income level (Table 6) and nationality (Table 7), no significant difference was found through ANOVA and post-hoc tukey test with F=.425 (.735) and F=1.928 (.166) respectively. Table 6: ANOVA Results of Strain based on Income Level Groups Variable Table 7: ANOVA Results of Strain based on Nationality Groups Variable Finally, on the basis of lecturers college, the mean scores of the level of strain are presented in Table 8. ANOVA showed no significant difference with F=1.353 (0.252). Table 8: ANOVA Results of Strain based on College Groups Variable Discussion and Implications Stress is prevalent in the individuals life and work environment. Specifically, in a job, various potential causes of stress prevails some of which are common to both genders. The sample study s individual differences in strain levels showed no significant differences on the basis of gender, age, work experience, income level, nationality and faculties. This can be justified by the fact that lecturers normally have similar job responsibilities and the nature of their job remains the same, they have lesser role overload, the same number of working hours, long period of vacation spent with their family, children and on social activities. Furthermore, the university provides lecturers with rehabilitation and training programs to prepare them for stress situation. In addition, some of other centers at university such as counseling center provide all lecturers with regular psychological workshops to overcome stress situation. They therefore perceived more or less similar kind of stress in their workplace, in their role and their organizational climate. Moreover, the results of the present study are consistent with some studies and inconsistent with others (Jang, 2007; Virk et al., 2001). This study attempted to contribute to knowledge regarding factors that affect strain variables in the university environment. The study implications include preliminary research concerning psychological strain experienced by university lecturers in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, this study shed a light on the individual differences of psychological strain among university lecturers working in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA. Organized by 108

7 University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The managerial implications include the need for university leaders to help lecturers in controlling their level of strain in the university environment to maintain their health and well-being and to improve their performance. 5.1 Study Limitations and Recommendations Some limitations are evident in the present study. First, the sample of the study may not be a representation of the bigger population as it was only taken from a single university in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the geographical and demographical generalization was not confirmed. On this basis, future research could adopt the same design and framework as the present study but include all Saudi public and private universities. Second, a quantitative data collection technique was utilized through self-report measures which provided the participants a leeway for data manipulation. This manipulation may have occurred due to the participants boredom of the test battery, their desire to complete the report expediently, and their attempt to satisfy the researcher. Consequently, the answers they provided may not truly reflect their true experience (Creswell, 1994). Future studies should therefore make use of qualitative method to explore lecturers perceptions of their work environment. References Ansari, M. R. (1991). An investigation into the stress of agriculture university teachers, Ph.D. Thesis, IARI, New Delhi. Anitha Devi, S. (2007). Occupational stress: A comparative study of women indifferent occupations. Prajnan, 35(1): Aminabhavi, V.A. & Triveni, S. (2000). Variables causing occupational stress on the nationalized and non- nationalized bank employees. J. Com. Gui. Res., 17(1): Bhatia, P. & Kumar, A. (2005). Occupational stress and burn out in industrial employees. Indian Psy. Rev., 64(4): Bhagawan, S. (1997). Job stress and burn out in teachers of secondary school in Orissa. J. Ednal. Res. Extn., 33(4): Beena, C. and Poduval, P.R., 1992, Gender difference in work of executives. Psy. Stu.,37(2&3): Chand, P. & Monga, O.P. (2007). Correlates of job stress and burn out. J.Com. Gui. Res.,24(3): Creswell, J. W. (1994). Research design qualitative & quantitative approaches, London: SAGE Publications. Gaur, S. P. & Dhawan, N. (2000). Work related stressors and adaptation pattern among women professionals. Psy. Stu., 45(1&2): Goldberg, D. P. (1978). Manual of the general health questionnaire. Slough, England: National Foundation for Education Research. Huda, B. Z., Rusli, B. N., Naing, L., Tengku, M. A., T.Winn, & Rampal, K. G. (2004).A study of job strain and dissatisfaction amomg lecturers in the school of medical sciences Universiti Sains Malaysia. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 35(1), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MALAYSIA. Organized by 109

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