The Impact of Occupational Stress on Job Autonomy and Job Performance of Physical Education Teachers in Elementary Schools in Fars Province

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of occupational stress on job autonomy and job performance of physical education teachers in elementary schools in Fars province.

The descriptive-correlational method was used in this research. The study population included all physical education teachers in Fars province, and convenience sampling was used for data collection. A total of 337 individuals completed the questionnaires. The occupational stress questionnaire of Andam and Asadi (2015) was used to collect data on occupational stress, and its reliability and validity were reported as acceptable. The job autonomy questionnaire of T.I.S with 18 questions was used to collect data on job autonomy, and its reliability and validity were also reported as acceptable. The job performance questionnaire of Patterson (1990) was used to collect data on job performance.

The results showed a significant and inverse relationship between perceived occupational stress of physical education teachers and their job autonomy and job performance in elementary schools in Fars province, with the correlation coefficient being -0.719 and -0.770 respectively. Occupational stress had a significant effect on both job autonomy and job performance, with the beta coefficient of occupational stress having the greatest impact on job performance with a value of -0.535. Occupational stress also had a significant impact on general autonomy and curriculum autonomy, with the beta coefficient of occupational stress having the greatest impact on curriculum autonomy with a value of -0.668 However, occupational stress also had a significant impact on general autonomy with a beta coefficient of 0.117, which was less than the impact on curriculum autonomy.

It is necessary to consider that in order to improve performance and job independence, one should focus on reducing the level of job stress