Stress among Malaysian Academics: A Conceptual Study

Academic stress had been prevalent in universities all around the world. This shows that the academic environment no longer provides the low-stress working environment that the academician once enjoyed. Rapid development, global competition, technology and changes in the nature of jobs today could make the job more demanding than ever, and workers are more prone to injuries and illnesses. Stressors such as work relationship, work-life balance, job overload, job control, job security, pay and benefits, resources and communication, as well as aspects of the job could also be the source of pressure in the workplace. As the effects of the stressors, individual and organizational commitment, as well as physical health and psychological well-being of the employees will suffer. This in turn will impede the productivity of the organization such as teaching, supervision, publication, training, student service, administrative duties, and social responsibility productivity. However, the study between stress and academic productivity is very limited. Proper interventions are required to minimize stress at the workplace.

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