It appears that some professions, including teaching, are potentially very stressful,
but research also suggests that individual differences are quintessential to understanding
the variation in workplace stress (Parkes, 1994). Teachers will all be exposed to similar
intrinsic job factors, and environmental stressors would be expected to be relatively
constant for those working in a similar setting under comparable conditions.
Not everyone, however, suffers high levels of stress, as some individuals will be much
more susceptible than others, and only a small percentage reach the burnout stage.
Teacher stress levels have been found to differ cross-culturally (Travers & Cooper, 1997),
and across levels of education (Male & May, 1998). It is evident therefore that teacher
stress is associated with multifarious factors, including intrinsic job factors,
environmental factors, and individual factors (Jarvis, 2002; Kyriacou & Sutcliffe, 1978)