Sources of Stress and the Use of Anticipatory, Preventative and Proactive Coping Strategies by Higher Education Lecturers

Abstract

This case study explores the sources of stress and use of coping strategies amongst Higher Education lecturers. In semi-structured interviews, lecturers (N=10) reported experiencing a wide range of stressors, summarised under three interrelated themes: 1) organisational stress; 2) subject-linked stress; and 3) non-organisational stress. All participants described examples of stress resulting from an unbalanced workload, often exacerbated by insufficient time allowance for task completion. Lecturers identified 19 coping strategies used to manage stress. Results suggest that interventions designed to reduce stress should seek to increase the use of preventative and proactive coping strategies, thus reducing the need for reactive coping.