Exploring occupational role stress and demographic correlates among agricultural university faculty

Aims: To explore the relationship of occupational stress among faculty members in an agricultural university with demographic variables.
Study design: Ex post facto research design.
Place and duration of study: Directed at Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth (VNMKV), Parbhani, across 12 constituent colleges, from the academic year 2024-25.
Methodology: A proportionate stratified random sampling method was done to select 120 faculty members, ensuring representation across colleges. Data on demographic variables (age, gender, marital status, educational qualification, designation, years of experience, pay scale, family background, family type, communication level, additional responsibilities) were collected. Occupational stress was assessed using the Occupational Role Stress (ORS) Scale by Udai Pareek, covering 10 stress dimensions. Data collection involved face-to-face interviews using a pre-tested schedule. Statistical analysis using SPSS v27 included descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation to explore relationships between variables.
Results: The majority of participants were middle-aged (40-55 years, 68.3%), male (81.66%), married (96.66%) and doctoral degree holders (99.1). Age, marital status, experience, pay scale and designation show small but consistent negative correlations whereas gender and family type exhibit weak positive associations, indicating a subtle improvement in outcomes for certain groups. Other factors such as family background, educational qualification, communication and additional responsibilities show negligible or non-significant correlations.
Conclusion: Findings indicate that more senior, experienced and higher-paid faculty tend to perceive less stress than that of others. As the findings revealed the importance of faculty members to have a less or no stress for the betterment of the institution. The productivity of the organization majorly depends on the stress level of the faculty members.