Occupational Stress and Job Satisfaction among SchoolAdministrators

A sample of 150 school administrators in state primary and secondary schools in Malta completed a self‐administered questionnaire on their perceptions of role‐related stress. About one‐fifth of the respondents found their job as school administrators either very stressful or extemely stressful; 80 per cent indicated that they were fairly satisfied or very satisfied with their job. Some of the demographic characteristics of the sample were related to the level of job stress and satisfaction. Results also showed that respondents who reported greater levels of stress were least satisfied with their role as school administrators. A principal components analysis of 22 listed sources of stress revealed four major stress factors, labelled “lack of support and resolving conflicts”, “inadequate resources”, “workload” and “work conditions and responsibilities”. The demographic variables of “sex”, “type of administrative post” and “type of school” interacted significantly with the four stress factors.