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Article Excerpt
Research on stress in the last 2 decades has identified a range of consequences that negatively affect individual wellness (Osipow & Spokane, 1984; Walker & Brokaw, 2001). The negative effects of stress include anxiety (Witmer & Rich, 1991), exhaustion (Pierce & Molloy, 1990), low self-esteem (Adams, Bezner, & Steinhardt, 1995), physical complaints (e.g., headaches, stomachaches, hypertension, insomnia [Davis, Eshelman, & McKay, 1998; Pithers & Soden, 1999]), decreased immune functioning (Stone, Cox, Valdimarsdottir, Jandorf, & Neale, 1987), decreased longevity (Pelletier, 1984), depression, acts of violence (Miller & Smith, 1994), and decreased productivity.(Pelletier, 1984). Counselor educators are particularly vulnerable to stress considering their direct service to graduate students and clients (Huebner, 1992). The stress revolution in the 1970s and 1980s contributed to the organizational recognition that minimizing stress and promoting wellness correlates with increased productivity and decreased absences and turnovers (Witmer & Young, 1996). Wellness, both professional and personal, has become a critical issue as individuals and society respond to the pressures and demands of living in the new millennium.
Within the context of wellness, occupational satisfaction is an individual's perception of how desired outcomes match expected outcomes (Oshagbemi, 1999). High levels of occupational satisfaction stem from a positive affective evaluation of how consistent work goals are with work demands and accomplishments. The literature suggests a set of working conditions and characteristics that are perceived as most valuable in contributing to occupational satisfaction.
Spurred by scholarly dialogue on how role conflict and ambiguity affected stress and coping research, Osipow and Spokane (1983, 1984) developed a model for understanding occupational stress and strain. This model argues that workers' perception of their work role is pivotal to understanding emotional experiences at work. The subjective measure of role stressors is more important than an objective measure because individual perception determines emotional reactivity, stress (perceived demands vs. resources), and ability to cope. Osipow and Spokane (1983) asserted that occupational stress is mediated by role factors and coping resources. The model they developed includes three fundamental dimensions: occupational stress, coping, and strain. The interactional model of occupational strain developed by Osipow and Spokane (1983) provides a framework for measuring occupational satisfaction.
* Occupational Satisfaction in Counselor Education
In higher education, occupational satisfaction is influenced by the environment of academia as well as by the dispositional variables explored for occupational satisfaction in general. Differences are experienced based on gender, minority status, and tenure status. The academic milieu generates a unique set of stressors, resources, and experiences. There is considerable research addressing higher education and occupational satisfaction. The paucity of literature is evident when exploring research specific to counselor educators. Despite the philosophical commitment to well-being within counselor education, there is little, if any, discussion of the occupational satisfaction of the field's professoriat.
The literature suggests multiple challenges for new faculty as they matriculate into the academic culture (Olsen, 1993). Role overload, experiencing more demands than available time, is articulated consistently in the literature on new faculty experiences and is negatively correlated to occupational satisfaction (Lease, 1999; Sorcinelli, 1994). The struggle to balance multiple demands with limited time is confounded by the lack of collegial relations and support (Austin & Rice, 1998; Sorcinelli, 1994). Furthermore, contemporary literature suggests that pretenured faculty members are frustrated and anxious about unclear and conflicting information about the tenure process (Austin & Rice, 1998). Tenure status is a variable that influences occupational satisfaction, and yet there are no empirical studies in counselor education that explore how tenure status influences occupational satisfaction.
The literature on occupational satisfaction reveals many similarities among women and pretenured faculty. Female faculty members consistently highlight support and fair treatment as essential aspects of occupational satisfaction (Hagedorn, 1996). Female educators experience challenges that revolve around two fundamental themes: inequities among male and female faculty and differential experiences with teaching, service, and scholarship. Occupational strain, as for pretenured faculty, is a reality for female educators. In a study of 400 randomly selected tenure-track faculty, 66% of the women reported feeling stress at work at least 50% of the time (Blix, Cruise, Mitchell, & Blix, 1994). Within the context of counselor education, further research is necessary to understand how the variable of gender interacts with measures of occupational satisfaction.
Contemporary literature demonstrates that ethnic minorities do score differently on measures of family and work conflict (Broman, 1991), occupational satisfaction (Long & Martinez, 1997), and social support systems (Bailey & Wolfe, 1996). Within higher education, faculty members who are minorities are increasingly represented at the pretenure level (Flint, 1995; Toutkoushian, 1998). Promotion and tenure continue to be a challenge within academia because minority faculty are overrepresented in entry-level positions. Dovidio (1998) reviewed minority faculty members in psychology departments and found that 26%...
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