ob stress continues to be a concern and research interest across occupations and professions. Established theories help us to understand the fundamentals of the concept, models and determinants of job stress, and there is no much variation with regards to social appreciation and its different implications on our life, relationships and performance. However, experts in the domain and people across segments widely differ in their perceptions, beliefs, and experiences about the possibilities and potentials of different stress coping mechanisms. Unlike other issues or phenomena, the subject 'job stress' has drawn attention of researchers from across disciplines, such as social and behavioral sciences, economics, clinical psychology, psychiatry, medicine, yoga, and spirituality, etc. Several studies have been conducted to explore the sources and consequences of organizational job and role stress. The subject, particularly role stress among professionals, has a rich theoretical and empirical background in the Western world (Cooper, Cooper & Eaker, 1988;Howie, Porter & Forbes, 1989;Rout & Rout, 1993;Rout et al., 1997;Sutherland & Cooper, 1993). However, to the best of researchers' knowledge, few studies on role stress have been conducted in India.

It does not affect only the employees' work life, but has far-reaching impact on their family and social life as well. Schular R. S. (1980) defines 'Stress as a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint or demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important': Is it a consequential phenomenon? Or a conditional one to ensure better productivity and performance of people? Exploring evidence to such questions might divide our opinions, and due to the predominant existence of empirical studies in the domain, we narrowly fail to reach any customized solutions for people engaged in different occupations and professions. Perhaps, scholars will agree that ever-changing performance demands might be one of the most prominent factors responsible for job stress. The interest of researchers in the domain has been rising as the phenomenon is getting increasingly complex due to overt and covert relationships among several factors, including demography physical mental and intellectual ability; value orientation and attitude, ambition and purpose of life; priorities in life; self-perceptions; alertness and many others. Inevitably there are several other external factors which are beyond our control, such as employers' expectations and social aspirations.

The emerging societies perceive the role of teachers very differently when compared to traditional societies. The contemporary opportunities and challenges through technological advancements, proliferation of digital and e-learning platforms, demand for skill-based education, growing recognition for selflearning modules, etc. continuously posing threats to the conventional role of teachers. Both voluntarily and involuntarily teachers are pushed to adapting needbased and tech-driven learning mechanisms, where there is a growing influence of students and other stakeholders. The demand for activity-based and participatory learning has redefined the role of teachers from educators to learning facilitators. However, despite all such changes and transformations, the teachers have not yet lost their relevance. The provision of excellence in education system still depends on adequately qualified and skilled teachers.

A couple of recent studies have been reviewed to understand how much and how far similar studies have already been done in the domain so that the scope for the present study could be defined.

Gandhi (2017) conducted a study on job stress of teachers working in self-financed colleges of Punjab and Rajasthan. A sample of 200 teachers was selected randomly from self-financed colleges. Occupational Stress Index (OSI) by Srivastava and Singh (1984)) was used for investigation and measurement. The analysis was conducted with the aid of SPSS by utilising statistics such as mean, standard deviation and t-ratio. The study revealed that there was no significant difference in job stress among the respondents. However, it is pertinent to note that there is no mention about any prospective common or uncommon stress factors among male and female, and any significant difference in stress level among them.

Chatterjee (2016) assessed the occupational stress, job satisfaction and mental health of employees of banks and IT firms. The study reveals that work is infringing on the personal lives of the respondents and that affects their mental health. Evidence indicates that respondents prefer more balancing work and life than expecting job security and other benefits. The study concludes that it is more important to aid the employees to combat various dimensions of occupation stress and job dissatisfaction so that they can exhibit effective organizational citizenship behaviour and contribute to reducing attrition costs. However, the study has not yet looked into the differences among respondents about their individual coping mechanisms. Majumder (2015) finds that occupational stress has a negative impact on both employees and companies. He mentions that in general people perceive teaching as a comfortable and stress-free job. But the facts revealed in the study alter the perception and confirm the existence of moderate to high level of job stress among teachers of private management colleges. The study throws light on factors responsible for occupational stress, the effect of stress and the coping strategies adopted by teachers in Kolkata, West Bengal. But there is no insight shared by the scholar about similarities and differences regarding respondents' stress factors and coping mechanisms across their gender, age-groups, subjects taught, etc. Aftab and Khatoon (2015) in their study examined the relationships of a set of independent variables (gender, qualification, teaching experience, salary, subjects taught and marital status) with occupational stress among secondary school teachers. The sample in this study consisted of 608 teachers from 42 schools of Uttar Pradesh in India. The teachers' Occupational Stress Scale was used for measurement of stress level and t-test and F-test were used for statistical inferences. Males displayed more occupational stress towards job than the females. The undergraduate teachers were found to have higher occupational stress than post-graduate and trained teachers. The findings of the study indicated a positive relationship between teachers' years of experience and level of stress. Teachers with longer experience have comparatively higher level of stress than the juniors. However, no significant difference was observed among monthly salary, subjects taught, marital status and occupational stress of secondary school teachers.

Nagra and Kaur (2014) in their study aimed at measuring the level of occupational stress and its relation to coping strategies with respect to their gender, subject streams and nature of the job. Occupational Stress Index and self-constructed Coping Strategies Scale were used to collect data from a randomly selected 200 secondary school teachers. Statistical techniques such as mean, standard deviation, t-test and linear regression were used for analysis. The results revealed that secondary school teachers experienced a higher level of occupational stress and moderately used coping strategies. Significant differences were found between teachers' occupational stress and their gender and nature of the job. But the study has not yet ascertained the difference between males and females regarding their age groups, stress factors and coping mechanisms.

In another study on faculty members in higher educational institutes, Rajarajeswar (2013) finds three most critical factors responsible for their job stress, such as teaching load, examination, and, administrative work. The scholar noted that most of the teachers show apathy towards non-teaching assignments and according to them those create anxiety led stress among them.

Through their research findings, Gomathi and Deepika (2013) indicate that employers' over expectation from employees may lead to short-term increase in their performance, but in the long run, it causes harm to employees' health and consistent performance. It is understood through the analyses and discussion in the study that an inclusive and participatory working environment may help employees dealing with stress, but no practical guidelines are suggested to create and sustain such environment. In a similar study, Nayak (2008) has affirmed that appropriate environment and support to each employee may help them reduce stress, but no concrete evidence has been given about how to customize such support. The scholar finds that there are variations in the experience of stress associated with work, role, personal development, interpersonal relation and institutional ambiance by the male and female degree college teachers. If so, any unitary approach may not be effective for employees with varied stress experience.

The above review reiterates the existence of stress among employees on different jobs across industries and professions. The measured stress factors have been found to be common with or without significant differences among males and females, teachers with different tenure of experience and subjects they deal with. Hardly, there is any study which can specifically mention unique stressors for males and females, and teachers with different other identities. Also, there has been hardly any attempt to investigate, (i) whether stress level and coping patterns differ across different age groups, marital status, teachers with different educational levels etc., and (ii) whether there is any association between teachers' social engagements and job stress. Sometimes, we may assume that teachers' stress experience may differ according to their motivating factors behind joining the profession. Do religious affiliations have any association with job stress? Whether traditional stress factors are still relevant or there exist any new stress factors? Such issues too are important and so deserve research attention. The present study has been planned to fill the above gaps and contribute substantially for better understanding the phenomenon. To fulfill the above purpose, the following objectives are formulated.

To fulfill the above objectives, following nullhypotheses have been formulated for testing.

H 01 : There is no association between age, gender, and education of the respondents and their level of stress.

H 02 : There is no association between age, gender and marital status of the respondents and their coping ability to overcome stress.

The descriptive research design was used in the study. The data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Firstly, an attempt was made to explore non-conventional causes of stress, if any, among the educators and their unique way of coping with stress. Later, the inputs obtained through exploratory study were incorporated to construct the questionnaire. Before the final use of the tool, it was pretested and modified to ensure validity. The link of the questionnaire was sent through email to 350 educators working in private or self-financed post-graduate institutions in Pune and Mumbai. Out of those, only 207 responded and only 188 had filled the questionnaire. Hence, the sample size for the study came out to be 188. The collected data were analyzed by employing the statistical tools like percentage analysis and Chi-square test.

There have been numerous studies conducted to understand and describe the motivational factors for teaching professionals in schools, colleges and other higher educational institutes. Also, attempts might have been made to find out associations and correlations between teachers' motivation and students' performance. No one can ignore that teachers' motivation may directly or indirectly impact their performance, as well as of their students.

The present study reveals a very interesting finding. For instance, in (Table-1) 'remuneration' (and financial benefits on or through the job) appears to be the most prominent motivational factor for a larger majority (71 percent) of the respondents, followed by 'comfort' associated with the job (52.3 percent) and 'social respect' (about 39 percent). Teachers as 'role models' and their 'passion' may be perceived by people as some of the most important motivational factors for teachers. However, these factors were not so important in the study. Like other past studies, the present study attempts to ascertain if there is any statistical association between teachers' age, gender and educational level, and their level of job stress. First, we analyse the distribution of respondents according to their level of stress, and then by conducting non-parametric test, we will assess the association between three independent variables (age, gender and, education) and, job stress. If we observe the results in tables (1 & 2), we can assume that 'remuneration' as teachers' most cited 'motivational factor' has no determining role in keeping them stress-free on the job. About 78 percent (Table -2) of the respondents have expressed the prevalence of moderate to high level of job stress. The respondents in the age group of 25-35 years appear to have more stress than their juniors and seniors. Why that particular age group is having more stress? There may exist several factors in and out of jobs, and to explore those, an interview method would be more effective. Taking into consideration the limitations, the study further explored the nature of association between age and level of stress. From the chi-square test results, it was found that the table value (Table-3A) is less then chi-square value, so the null hypothesis is rejected. Therefore, there is an association between age and stress level of respondents. -4) we find that male teachers (about 72 percent) have more job stress when compared to females (about 86 percent). It may be due to their dual roles, i.e., managing family and job together. We can infer from these findings that female teachers may find it difficult to balance their work and life when compared to their male colleagues. However, such propositions require further research and investigation to reach any decisive conclusion. However, the chi-square test (Table-4A) results show that there is no association between gender and, level of stress. The findings presented in the last two tables do not endorse each other which may warrant further research. Unlike gender, respondents' educational status has an association with their job stress (Table-5A). It was found that the respondents with higher level of education have comparatively more job stress than the others. The teachers with MPhil degrees (about 76 percent) have more stress than those with PhD. It could be due to the institutional and/or professional pressure on them to pursue doctoral degrees to survive and grow on their jobs. The findings presented in Table-6 revealed that the 'feeling of job insecurity', 'uncertainty about career development', 'inadequate vacations' and 'lack of students learning interests' were some of the most prominent stress factors perceived by the respondents. With the exception of the fourth important factor, the other factors cited by the respondents indicate that perhaps in most of the private institutions, the faculty members are deprived of getting adequate support and assistance to pursue their career goals. It could be inferred that many faculty members' are working either with the fear of losing their job or with inadequate provisions for availing 'vacations'. Moreover, such type of working environment will not encourage and facilitate the faculty members to pursue higher education. Job stress may be prevalent across occupations and professions. Also, people may or may not be consciously aware about its existence and impact on their work and life. However, recognizing its inevitability, the management and related stakeholders must put concerted efforts to educate and sensitize people about it and facilitate them to acquire knowledge and skills to cope stress. A further probe in the study reveals that (Table -7) majority of respondents (about 60 percent) are optimistic and believe that coping with stress is possible. Another important finding of the study was that the respondents were trying on their part to minimise the negative effects of job stress in their life. It is pertinent to note that there is sufficient empirical evidence on 'stress management' as a concept and practice in the industry. However, it is not empirically evident in higher educational institutes. More than 90 percent of respondents enjoy 'reading' as their hobby (Table -8) and believe that it helps in overcoming their job stress. Also, as another coping mechanism, the majority of them engage themselves, either voluntarily or involuntarily, in serving society and needy (Table -9). About 70 percent (Table -10) believe that visiting their religious places and engaging into spiritual activities help them to cope with stress. In the next section an attempt has been made to test the associations between age, gender and marital status of respondents and their coping ability. -3). However, at the same time it may be noted that they possess better coping capabilities with their respective stress levels. The calculated chi-square value (Table-11A) indicates the existence of significant association between respondents' age and their coping abilities. Table-4A) with their level of stress, it has a significant association with their coping abilities. If we observe gender-specific coping abilities, we can see that compared to females, males' coping abilities are much better (Table-13), and there is a significant association between respondents' gender and their coping abilities (Table-13A). Perhaps males have better advantages, regarding their freedom of choice and liberty, and so they can cope with stress better than their female colleagues. But the scenario is different when we compare married with the unmarried respondents. The Table-14 indicates that when males are married, the couple together (87.7 percent, n=73) cope up with stress better than the unmarried respondents (85.21 percent, n=115). However, the calculated chi-square value (Table-14A) narrowly escapes the level of significance to claim their association, and it might be due to variance in the composition of male and females in the sample.

An interesting finding of the study was that the motivation for financial incentives was significantly contributing to the overall stress levels among the educators. Perhaps one could infer a paradigm shift from 'teaching as a passion' to 'teaching as a career' which could be a contributing factor to increased stress levels. Another significant finding was that female educators undergo more stress than male counterparts. Furthermore, married educators possessed better coping mechanisms than the unmarried. The study revealed that 'feeling of job insecurity, 'uncertainty in career, 'inadequate leave, and 'lack of student's interest' were the dominant stress factors. Finally, the study found that the educators perceived 'spending quality time with friends and family, 'social media activity, 'playing with kids, 'sports and games' as the most important coping mechanisms.