Predicting Work Stress Among Business Educators in Public Tertiary Institutions in Anambra State, Nigeria: The Role of Social Orientation and Decision-Making Competence

This research explored how social orientation and decision-making competence influence work stress among business educators in public tertiary institutions in Anambra State. The study had two research questions and tested two null hypotheses at a significance level of 0.05. It used a correlational survey research design and involved 112 business educators from all public institutions in Anambra State. Three research instruments were employed: the Social Orientation Scale (SOS), the Decision Making Competence Questionnaire (DMCQ), and the Work Stress Scale (WSS-10). The reliability of these instruments was assessed using Cronbachs alpha, yielding coefficients of 0.73 for SOS, 0.76 for DMCQ, and 0.88 for WSS. Data were collected directly from respondents, and simple linear regression was used for analysis. The findings indicated that social orientation significantly predicts work stress among business educators, while decision-making competence does not. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that Institutions should focus on developing social orientation skills among business educators in order to reduce work stress. They should develop support networks for business educators to facilitate positive social orientation and reduce work stress. These networks could involve peer mentoring, informal discussion groups or virtual support systems.