The relationship between on-the-job stress and illness among county extension agents of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service
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Date
1983
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Abstract
County Extension Agents in the Texas Agricultural Extension Service work in a large complex organization performing many roles which the relevant literature indicated could produce stress. Research has not been completed which confirmed the relationship between health, illness and stress for County Extension staff in Texas. This study was conducted to determine what sources of stress existed within the Extension Service and if those sources of stress held the same relationship to health and illness as described in the relevant research and literature. A mailed survey was used to collect the data from 405 randomly selected agents employed by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. To describe the data, one-way frequency distributions were used. To examine the relationship existing between the dependent and independent variables, the Chi Square Statistic was used. The .05 level of significance was used as the level for acceptance or rejection. Gamma was used to arrive at a coefficient of predictability. It was found that sources of stress confronting the Texas Agricultural Extension Service are not unlike those sources of stress described in the literature. There was found to be a significant relationship between an agent's stress, health and the frequency of illness they experienced. Persons who perceived themselves as experiencing more stress also perceived themselves to be in poorer health and to experience symptoms of illness more frequently than those agents who perceived themselves to be under less stress. Employees who perceive themselves to be under more stress could benefit from programs designed to improve their coping skills. Such programs would also be a benefit to the organization in that they could reduce sick leave time and other costly side-effects of high stress among employees.
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Typescript (photocopy).
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Adult and Extension Education