Psychological distress: a comparative study of Iranian and Polish EFL teachers

Psychological distress (PD) is a significant issue for university language teachers, which can have a negative impact on their teaching performance and overall well-being. This qualitative study carried out a comparative intercultural analysis of the PD experienced by 10 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in Iran and Poland. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the salient causes, consequences, and coping strategies for PD in the two cultures. The analysis revealed that, although teachers in both countries appear to perceive common stressors such as heavy workload, unsatisfactory working conditions, and student misbehavior, the two cultures display significant intercultural differences. Whereas Iranian teachers in this study seem to suffer from the sociocultural stressors of perceived lack of professional recognition from society, Polish teachers in our study seem to have stressors related to direct face-to-face contact with students, problems with time, and lack of work-life balance. The coping strategies with PD in both cultures, however, were significantly different. Whereas Polish teachers in this study seemed to adopt more emotion-focused strategies, such as seeking social support and psychotherapy, their Iranian counterparts seemed to adopt more problem-focused strategies, including preparation before class and professional experience. These findings offer a grounded comparative intercultural perspective on the literature on PD, suggesting that although some stressors of the profession may be universal, the perception of them and the ensuing responses are uniquely shaped by the intersection of cultural orientations and specific institutional contexts.