The Differences in Mental Workload and Work Stress Elementary School Teachers and State Extraordinary School Teachers

Abstract

High mental workload put on State Elementary School and State Extraordinary School teachers can cause work stress. Therefore, measuring mental workload is necessary to handle mental workload in the capacity of teachers in order to prevent work stress. This research seeks to determine the differences in mental workload and work stress between State Elementary School and State Extraordinary School teachers. This research implemented a comparative design with cross sectional approach. It was conducted in all State Elementary Schools and State Extraordinary Schools in Patrang Village, with the whole population was taken as samples, amounted to 35 teachers. The variables consisted of independent variables, namely mental workload and individual characteristics (age, gender, and tenure) and dependent variable, namely work stress. Questionnaires and documentation were used to collect the data. The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that there were differences in the individual characteristic of age, while there were no differences in characteristics of gender and years of service. The mental workload and work stress state Elementary School teachers experienced higher than State Extraordinary School teachers. Therefore, it can be concluded that there were differences in workload and work stress on elementary school teachers and extraordinary school teachers. Suggestions for institutions/schools are to increase teachers’ participation in expressing their opinions and making decisions, formulate and develop good learning strategies, and give rewards to teachers. Suggestions for teachers are to make the best use of their rest, older and more experienced teachers should provide