Stress: Professional Development Needs of Extension Faculty
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STRESS: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF EXTENSION FACULTY Nick T. Place, Assistant Professor Steve Jacob, Assistant Professor University of Florida Abstract This study was designed to identify workplace and individual factors that cause stress in the lives of Extension professionals and to determine baseline needs assessment data for professional development in the area of balancing work and family. A census-survey questionnaire (74% response rate) was utilized to explore balancing work and personal life issues among the population of University of Florida Extension faculty. It was found that some faculty have stress under control while others are experiencing high levels of stress; county faculty perceived slightly higher stress than state faculty but this difference was not significant. Respondents reporting greater use of formal planning, planning for meetings, and “to do” lists tended to have lower stress scores. For Extension faculty, spending more time with family served as a coping mechanism for minimizing stress. Any stress inducing situations disclosed in this study can be improved upon through proactive professional development. Professional development programs and inservice training focusing on workday planning may help faculty cope with the stress and pressure of an Extension career. Greater organizational effectiveness can be achieved through employees being able to manage stress and work pressure via positive workplace skills. Introduction and Theoretical Framework The dilemma was recognized nationally Job stress, time management, and by United States Department of Agriculture- balancing work and personal life are issues Cooperative State Research, Education and that educators in the field of Cooperative Extension Service (USDA-CSREES) as Extension constantly struggle with. An early as 1981. As part of a national position Extension career can be very rewarding paper on Cooperative Extension’s role in personally and professionally, as well as strengthening American families, a national very demanding. Extension educators are Extension Committee on Organization and able to bring about tremendous positive Policy (ECOP) task force was also charged impact among individuals and communities with examining the impact of stress and through locally provided education and personal and professional balance within the information. Yet for many, an Extension Extension organization. The group career is known for long hours, travel, determined that this was a critical issue, and frequent night and weekend work, and as such, recommended that Extension’s working with problems, issues and needs of administrators needed to “critically examine others. their policies and practices and the resultant Personal and professional balance and effects upon the family life of Extension high job demands are not new issues for employees” (ECOP Task Force, 1981, p. 3). Extension. The demands and stress of Fetsch and Kennington (1997) Extension and its effect on people have been summarized a number of studies that studied for several years (Fetsch & Pergola, specifically addressed these concerns within 1991; Riggs & Beus, 1993; Fetsch & Extension. They found that stress and Kennington, 1997). Each of these papers burnout existed within Extension has served to document and reinforce the organizations in all of the states studied; difficulties that Extension professionals have some studies noted a direct relationship had with stress, burnout, depression, time between professional stress and family management, and balancing personal and problems. The problem existed across all professional responsibilities. program areas with various levels of Journal of Agricultural Education 96 Volume 42, Issue 1, 2001 Place & Jacob Stress: Professional Development… significance. They concluded that Extension Time management and work habits have professionals could attain overall been at the core of job stress and balancing improvement through the use of stress and personal and professional lives for quite time management strategies. Furthermore, some time. Studies conducted in the 1960s they concluded that organizational policies and 1970s documented that people’s work and practices that lead to higher levels of efficiency declines after eight hours of work stress must be modified and programs must (Mackenzie, 1972). Unfortunately, many be implemented for increasing coping skills people get into a habit of thinking “there is and productivity of Extension professionals. always tonight” for taking work home or These conclusions closely parallel staying late to get things done, thereby recommendations made for other business stretching work beyond the normal workday. areas (Abernathy, 1999; Hitchin, 1999; Other early studies also showed that people Vincola, 1998). who overemphasize their work at the Stress has been associated with mental expense of their family and marriage will tension and/or strain and is generally viewed eventually attain lower job performance as a nonspecific response of the body to a (Mackenzie, 1972). stimulus. The subjective feeling of stress is A more recent study conducted by the derived from a stimulus (stressor) and from Franklin Covey Company describes similar environmental demands (Krannich et al., workplace problems. The study reported 1988). Individuals have unique reactions to that 83 percent of Americans want to be stressors due to differing modes of coping, more organized, 50 percent feel guilty about mediation, and other adaptive capabilities. taking time off from work, and 62% often Stress can manifest itself in physical eat lunch while they continue to work outcomes. For example, stress has been (Abernathy, 1999). People are trying to get shown to affect the immune, endocrine, more done (with work and family) in less digestive, and cardiovascular systems time, which frequently leads to burnout and (Pearlin, 1989). Similarly, evidence extreme frustration (Abernathy, 1999; suggests it also negatively impacts mental Meikins, 1998; Perlow, 1999). Meikins health (NMHA, 1988). Alcohol and drug (1998) found that some people feel abuse, domestic violence, neurosis, and extremely rushed and pressured at home, depression are frequently cited as some of and as a result they may spend more time in the more common psychological impacts of the workplace for escape and personal stressors (Pearlin, 1989). gratification, which only exacerbates the Although there are many causes of situation. stress, within the workplace there are three Coping and mediation are mechanisms primary sources: the employee’s personal that can mitigate the negative effects of life characteristics, the work conditions and stress. Coping is an individual action, but is environment, and situations occurring within learned from one's reference group, in this the job itself (Kirkpatrick, et. al. 1996). case one's colleagues. Mediators are Within the context of the organization, essentially social supports that help alleviate Kirkpatrick has identified seven categories or lessen stress (Pearlin, 1989). Most of the that may be stress-inducing: competition for research on coping and mediation has been resources; task interdependence; psychological in nature, with a clear jurisdictional ambiguity; status problems; emphasis on the individual. This body of communication barriers; individual traits; research has shown that locus of control and miscellaneous factors such as role beliefs are critical to coping. If people conflicts, volume of work, work schedules, believe that they have control of good and insufficient authority, deadlines, bad outcomes in their life (high locus of organizational pettiness, and inadequate control), they can effectively reduce stress. training. A number of these items are Krause (1987) found that locus of control interrelated with personal perceptions of beliefs buffer stress to a limited extent, and time pressure, and abilities in workday that efforts at enhancing locus of control planning, and managing others. (empowerment) by individuals actually eroded such beliefs. Similarly, Mirowsky Journal of Agricultural Education 97 Volume 42, Issue 1, 2001 Place & Jacob Stress: Professional Development… and Ross (1990) found that genuine control Florida county and state faculty with reduces stress, and most other coping Extension knowledge and/or experience was methods are not as effective. Time utilized for evaluation of content and face management is generally seen as an and validity. Thirty-five state and county effective means whereby individuals can faculty participated in pilot testing the control stress. instrument. Suggested changes, The issues of job stress, time clarifications, and improvements were management, and balancing one’s personal subsequently incorporated into the and professional life is a significant dilemma instrument prior to its actual use. in today’s society and for Extension. These In February of 2000, the questionnaire issues cause tremendous costs to was mailed to 422 county and state organizations in employee medical Extension faculty. Following the total problems, down time, sick days, job apathy, design method (Dillman, 1978), a postcard and lost productivity. For individuals these follow-up and a second mailing of the issues result in lowered wages, lessened job instrument was conducted in March. A third enthusiasm, depression, and familial mailing was not initiated because the difficulties. Extension must address these targeted instrument precision level of +/- 3 issues to attract and retain leading percent was