Workplace Stress and Coping Behaviour among College Faculty: Implications for Job Performance in Kanniyakumari District

Abstract

This research paper investigates workplace stress, coping behaviour and job performance of college faculty in Arts and Science Colleges in Kanniyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. The investigation employs a quantitative design with a descriptive and analytical basis, and demonstrates the full empirical workflow using a clearly labelled simulated academic dataset of 300 faculty members, because actual field survey data were not supplied for this drafting exercise. Workplace stress is defined through work overload stress, roles conflict, role ambiguity, student-related stress, administrative hassle, research pressure and work-life imbalance.  The following coping behaviour is studied: problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, avoidance coping, social support coping and positive reframing. The teaching performance, research performance, student guidance performance, administrative performance and institutional commitment along with teaching capabilities are essential for effective management.  The simulated analysis consists of frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, reliability testing, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, multiple regression and moderation analysis. According to the findings moderate to high levels of workplace stress exist, and the strongest stressors would be workload stress, administrative burden and research pressure. There exists a significant negative relationship between workplace stress and job performance. On the other hand, there exists a significant positive relationship between coping behaviour and job performance. The findings of the moderation analysis suggest that adaptive coping behaviour weakens the stress-performance relationship. The paper concludes that higher education institutions can enhance faculty performance through the redesign of workload systems, reduction of unreasonable administrative burden, enhancement of institutional support and structuring of coping and well-being interventions.  What these findings illustrate must be thrown out and replaced with actual field findings so that it can be submitted to journals and the thesis.