Estrategias de intervención del trabajo social en la prevención del estrés laboral en docentes del Colegio de Bachillerato Atahualpa, 2021

Abstract

Job stress is the set of negative reactions that impact the occupational health of people, developing both physical and emotional conditions, which occur when in the workplace, the capabilities, assets, or needs of the worker are not matched with the demands of the position (Patlán, 2019). An opinion survey conducted among 324 experts distributed in 54 countries showed that more than 90% of them consider this issue to be a major drawback in their countries (ILO, 2016). In another aspect, the I Central American Survey on Working Conditions and Health (2012, cited in the International Labor Organization [ILO], 2016) stated that in the Americas more than 1 in 10 respondents, have suffered stress due to anguish or uneasiness caused by their tasks. On the other hand, Mejia et al. (2020) report that Ecuador ranks second with 54%, in their study carried out in six Latin American countries, about the level of stress faced by employees. Demonstrating the magnitude and affectation of this issue in the Ecuadorian workforce. Also, the ILO (2016) complements that work-related stress is presented with the highest tendency in the areas of health, economy, and education. (2006) and Acosta and Burguillos (2014), who emphasize that teaching is one of the professions where it is most likely to manifest itself. Based on what has been described and in repercussion to this problem in the educational field, the objective is formulated to contribute with intervention strategies of Social Work in the prevention of work stress in teachers of the Colegio de Bachillerato Atahualpa, using the mixed quantitative-qualitative approach of descriptive-exploratory level, through the review of bibliographic sources and the application of surveys to 46 teachers through Google forms. Several of the results obtained through the online survey revealed the presence of work stress in teachers, highlighting that 54.3% of them indicated an increase in this detail, due to all the changes developed during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The causes of this occupational disease were also highlighted, some of them being the disinterest of students in studying for online education and the irregular support of parents in the educational process. As a result, harmful effects of nervousness, irritability, and tension in teachers. Besides, a large proportion of teachers, who comprise 45.7%, have not received training in the last quarter on the prevention of work-related stress, and most believe that the Ministry of Education should provide them with prevention strategies. Moreover, when need due to the change to virtual education has specified it. Due to these circumstances, the intervention plan was developed that included the planning of online training for teachers, given in the virtual platform Microsoft Teams, said the program had two sessions, the first covered general topics about work stress in teachers such as concepts, types, causes, consequences, among others. Consequently, the second session continued with a brief introduction to the intervention of Social Work. Also, a digital guide designed and created by the authors, called "1, 2, 3, PREVENT STRESS", was presented and shared with teachers. Where strategies for the prevention of social work in the face of work stress were presented. Applying the model of Social Work in groups focused on the orientation of groups and communities, constitutes a contribution to the internalization or awareness of this problem in educators, to improve teacher interaction - teacher, the harmony of the working environment, and occupational health. Work stress will continue to wreak havoc in the education system, so they need to intervene against it is imperative, therefore preventive measures are one way to do so. In this sense, Social Work is in the capacity of being able to respond to this situation that they face daily, hosting strategies of different organizations or corporations, in addition to those existing in their practice, which, with the support of the multidisciplinary team, will reduce the causes and effects of this condition on teachers.