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. 2023 Mar 10;102(10):e33185. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000033185

Coaching impact on work-family conflict and occupational stress among educational administrators in primary schools

Faith C Omeke a, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke b, Moses Onyemaechi Ede b, Joy Obiageli Oneli c,*
PMCID: PMC9997757  PMID: 36897694

Background:

Many workers in developing countries have complained about poor working conditions, unhappiness, and job insecurity. As a result, irrationality in employees judgments of the dissatisfactory status of Nigerian organizational environments has been linked to deviant public employee behavior. Apparently, workers in this work environment experience job-induced hazards and distorted feelings about their occupational well-being. With that in mind, we evaluated the impact of rational-emotive occupational health coaching on work-life quality and occupational stress management among educational administrators in Nigeria.

Methods:

This research employed a group-randomized trial design. A total number of 70 administrators were recruited, measured with 2 measurement tools during the study. Frequency, percentage, and Chi-square statistics were employed to describe the recruited sample, and inferential (mixed model ANOVA) statistics were utilized to examine the information gathered from the participants.

Results:

The result showed a significant effect of the rational-emotive occupational health coaching (REOHC) group in decreasing the perception of stress and work-family conflict management among educational administrators. Also, the study reported a significant effect of time on administrators’ occupational stress and work-family conflict management. The results also indicate that administrators’ occupational stress and work-family conflict coping skills had a significant influence due to group and time interaction effects.

Conclusion:

REOHC is a powerful and useful coaching strategy that improves perceptions of administrators about work-life and job stress in work environment. Based on these results, we recommend REOHC for practitioners in different works of life.

Keywords: public administrators, rational-emotive occupational health coaching, rebt, stress management, work-family conflict

1. Introduction

Any workplace that lacks motivational strategies can have a unfavorable impact on employees quality of life and productivity.[1] Lack of motivational techniques, culture, and effective administrative equipment has been shown to limit positive administration and productivity,[2] lower morale,[3] and cause inefficiency in administrative obligations.[4–6] Destructive school structures obstruct and limit school administrators monitoring, inspection, control, management, and making them appear perplexed in their administrative responsibilities.[7] It sad to find that some academic and administrative activities go place behind closed doors and other forms of barriers outside of official classroom settings.[3] This has a way of affecting the quality of 1’s professional life.[8] In some cases, educational administrators generate strain and high levels of work-stress as a result of making do with the scarcity and scarcity of inferior school environments and facilities[7]

Because of its connection to human administration, school administration is 1 of the most stressful jobs.[9] There are internal and external variables that constitute such pressures for administrators.[10] Internal stressors include strained relationships with subordinates, a hostile school climate, a lack of job stability, role conflict, and work pressure.[9] Because of the poor emotional development and long-term exposure to a demanding work environment, the majority of administrative team members reported severe stress in their workplaces.[11] A stressful work environment is strongly linked to a poor work-life balance.[12] More precisely, the level and quality of job satisfaction of educational administrators have been harmed by frequent confrontations among coworkers.[13] The relationship in the workplace is harmed when there is a disagreement between those in authority and their counterparts or subordinates. Some are induced and seduced by either junior or senior colleagues. It appears that it is as a result of the level of sexual assault between instructors and schoolchildren, that the school administrator’s perspiration has increased.[13] This contributes to the stress educational administrators are experiencing as they make efforts to rationalize administrative duties and other activities that are distracting them.

Similarly, the high prevalence of job insecurity, as well as the continual movement of pupils from 1 school to the next, have all contributed to the poor quality of life that administrators have experienced.[14] School interest versus family demands, as well as school demand versus personal interest, are examples of external stressors.[9] School administrators with marital instability do not carry out administrative functions effectively or efficiently as a result of a transfer of aggression,[11] and some arrive late to work to resolve lingering domestic difficulties.[9] Considering the circumstances and excessive workload, school administrators have indicated that they are unable to attend to their personal requirements.[3] The majority of them find it difficult to interact properly with their spouses and children after a long and strenuous day at work.[1] According to a recent survey, due to work demands and workload, most school administrators have resolved and resorted to going home in the small hours of the morning, exposing themselves to a variety of hazards.[15] Another element that has recently exacerbated the stress levels of school administrators is the distance between home and work.[1] It has been observed that the difficulties of traffic jams, driving to work, and driving distance from home are the primary causes of administrators bad work-life quality.[16] Due to work obligations, the majority of them appeared haggard and untidy, and they did not have adequate and quality time for themselves.[16] In view this, past studies have used psychological techniques to improve lives of public workers.[17,18] We felt it vital to research rational-emotive occupational health coaching given the claims that therapeutic strategy may help to lessen the degree of emotional and behavioral disturbances and may promote well-being rational-emotive occupational health coaching (REOHC).

This claim is based on research showing that occupational therapy rooted in rational-emotive principles reduces workers erroneous views in the areas of occupational structure and climate.[19,20] The model of occupational-based approach published by Ogbuanya, et al, is an extension of REBT. This occupational health paradigm aims to use psychological, rational-emotive techniques to challenge false emotions, skewed perceptions, and improper work-related behaviors. Enhancing people’s workplace well-being is the primary goal of rational-emotive occupational health coaching. According to REOHC, problems that employees or employers typically experience aren’t caused by unethical behavior or poor service conditions at work, but rather by false impressions. If these erroneous assumptions are replaced with better ones, employees could have a good work-life balance. With the modified views of REOHC, it is clear to understand how organizational employees apply ABCDE in the work environment. The A stands for activation of events, B stands for beliefs, C stands for consequences, D stands for disputation, and E stands for a new philosophy or effect. Given these assumptions and benefits o REBT as reported by past studies, we tested the effectiveness of rational-emotive occupational health coaching on work-life quality and stress management among educational administrators. In this study, we hypothesized there will be a significant effect of rational-emotive occupational health coaching on work-life quality and stress management. Also, administrators that received treatment will have significant and positive psychological outcomes compared to counterparts in the comparison group. There will be a significant interaction effect of group by time by gender.

2. Data and method

2.1. Ethical statement

The lead researcher’s university’s Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Education gave the study its ethical endorsement. The American Psychological Association’s research guidelines were followed for conducting this study.

2.2. Design

This research employed a group-randomized trial design. Through group-randomized trials, REBT clinical trials are appropriate for randomization and ensuring study internal validity.[21–23] To ensure fair representation, Cohen et al[24] recommends using a group-randomized trial design.

2.3. Measures

The occupational stress inventory (OSI) with 46 items created by Srivastava and Singh[25] was used to assess stress levels. Role overload (RO-6 items), role ambiguity (RA-4 items), role conflict (RC-5 items), unreasonable group and political pressures (UGPP-4 items), responsibility for persons (RP-3 items), under participation (UP-4 items), powerlessness (P-3 items), poor peer relations (PPR-4 items), intrinsic impoverishment (II-4 items), low status (LS-3 items), strenuous working conditions (SWC-4 items), and unprofitability are the 12 dimensions of the OSI (U-2items). The OSI was created using a 5-point scale ranging from strongly agree (SA) to standard deviation (SD). There are 28 items that are true-keyed, and 18 items that are false-keyed. Disagree is weighted 2 in the true key and 4 in the false key, Undecided is weighted 3 in the true key and 3 in the false key, Agree is weighted 4 in the true key and 2 in the false key, and Strongly Agreed is weighted 5 in the true key and 1 in the false key. In Nigeria, the original scale was likewise found to be accurate and dependable in measuring occupational stress.[26]

2.4. Work-family conflict questionnaire (W-FCQ)

Work-family conflict questionnaire was used in the study W-FCQ. Carlson, Kacmar, and Williams[27] developed an 18-item self-report questionnaire that measures 6 aspects of the scale. These include time-based WIF, time-based FIW, strain-based WIF, strain-based FIW, behavior-based WIF, and behavior-based FIW. It consists of 3 things in each of the 6 dimensions of work-family conflict stated. This self-report questionnaire was used to determine the extent of irrational/rational thoughts/behaviors caused by work-family conflict among participants. The coefficient alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of each of the 6 dimensions. Time-based work interference with families is 0.87, time-based family interference with work is 0.79, strain-based work interference with families is 0.85, strain-based family interference with work is 0.87, and behavior-based work interference with families is 0.78 and 0.85, respectively.[27] Each item was scored on a 4-point scale (1 = never; 4 = almost usually). Time-based WIF and FIW total scores ranged from 5 to 20 points, whereas strain-based WIF and FIW total scores ranged from 6 to 25 points.

2.5. Intervention package

This study adapted an occupational manual by Ogbuanya et al[28] designed at improving employees’ work-life. The manual is (REOHC) and has been utilized by past studies.[20,29]

2.6. Participants and procedures

The study participants were 70 educational administrative staff in Enugu State primary school board who met the criteria for selection based on the instruments used. They were randomized into treatment (35 participants) and control groups (35 participants). The participants are married with children. The participants years of administrative experience range from 2 to 30 years. The inclusive conditions for participants were those found displaying role conflict as measured by the W-FCQ; time management, poor self-management, and poor technology perception as measured by OSI. The participants were also required to sign a consent form and be actual administrative officers in a school in order to participate in the study. Administrative officers with chronic health conditions, those who have less than 2 years of active duty, and those who are on any type of leave were all explicitly listed as exclusion criteria. Also, exclusion was given to those who travel on official assignments for the organization, those that never respond positively to the consent form, and those who claimed that they are not going to benefit from the research.

The sample size was done by using GPower 3.1 program developed by Faul et al[30] The researchers ascertain the demographic characteristics of the participants including: years of experience, educational qualifications, and gender. See Table 1 for detailed information about the participants. They were selected from all the primary school board across Enugu state. In our first visitation to the school we only seek permission for us to conduct the research in September 2019 to January 2020, before the outbreak of Covid 19 in Nigeria. We evaluated the administrative staff for eligibility.

Table 1.

Demographic characteristics of the participants.

Demographics Treatment n/% Waitlist control % X 2 P
Gender 1.447 .229
Male 13 (41.9) 18 (58.1)
Female 22 (56.4) 17 (49.0)
Yr of experience
1 to 15 yr 20 (62.5) 12 (37.5) 3.692 .158
16 to 30 yr 10 (40.0) 15 (60.0)
Others yr 5 (38.5) 8 (61.5)
Qualifications
Bachelor degree 9 (42.9) 12 (57.1)
Master degree 13 (50.0) 13 (50.0) .820 .664
PhD 13 (56.5) 10 (43.5)
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% = percentage; X2= Chi-square; p = probability value.

2.7. Method of data analysis

Frequency, percentage, and Chi-square statistics were employed to describe the recruited sample, and inferential (mixed model ANOVA) statistics were utilized to examine the information gathered from the participants. The data analysis procedures were carried out using JASP 0.16 and the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. Sidak was also used to do posthoc analysis. Following data screening, Mauchly test was used to conduct an assumption violation test on the data. When the sphericity assumption is violated, according to Field,[31] the data should be interpreted using the Huynh–Feldt correction or the Greenhouse–Geisser correction (if the epsilon value is greater than or equal to 0.75). Also, the following assumptions of ANOVA were considered to ensure the appropriateness of interpretation of results

2.7.1. Test for equality of variances (Levene).

The Levene test of equality of variance was conducted using the OSI and W-FCQ scale measurements, the pretest, posttest, and follow-up test of the datasets were significant (F[3, 66] = 2.18, P = .10; F[3, 66] = 8.47, P = .01) for pretest; (F[3, 66] = 0.40, P = .75; F[3, 66] = 0.33, P = .80) for posttest, and (F[3, 66] = 0.94, P = .43; F[3, 66]= 0.19, P = .90). This revealed that the assumption of the homogeneity of equal variance across groups was violated at.05 level of significance. This is expected due to intervention that affected participants ratings.

2.7.2. Test of sphericity.

To ensure the assumption of the test of sphericity is met the dataset was subjected to a sphericity test. The dataset had a sphericity score of (x2[2] = 41.51, P = .001) indicating that the assumption of sphericity was violated and was corrected Huynh–Feldt since the Epsilom value was greater than 0.75 for work-family conflict. Since the Epsilom value for occupational stress was < 0.75 and the assumption of sphericity was also violated, it was adjusted using Greenhouse–Geisser

2.7.3. Homogeneity of regression slope as measured by OSI and W-FCQ.

The OSI dataset’s homogeneity slope, shown in Figures 1 and 2, include posttest and follow-up scores. The regression line’s slope was uniform, indicating that the assumption of the homogeneity of regression slopes had not been violated.

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

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Homogeneity of regression slope as measured by OSI. OSI = occupational stress inventory.

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

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Homogeneity of regression slope as measured by W-FCQ. W-FCQ = work-family conflict questionnaire.

2.7.4. Results.

Table 1 shows that there is no significant difference in the demographic characteristics of participants in terms of gender (χ2 = 1.447, P = .229), years of experience (χ2 = 3.692, P = .158), and qualification (χ2 = 0.820, P = .664) in the treatment group and waitlisted control group.

Table 2 showed the mean and standard deviation of occupational stress and work-family conflict of the REOHC group (M = 168.81, SD = 5.97; M = 65.29, SD = 1.85) and the comparison group (M = 158.45, SD = 8.56; M = 62.19, SD = 4.76) at the pretest as measured by OSI and W-FCQ respectively. However, at the posttest and follow-up measures, the mean and standard deviation of occupational stress and work-family conflict of the REOHC group (M = 121.89, SD = 8.29; M = 43.59, SD = 4.90), (M = 119.43, SD = 7.69; M = 40.78, SD = 6.03) while those of the control group are (M = 158.84, SD = 9.27; M = 61.64, SD = 4.95), (M = 157.02, SD = 9.88; M = 61.80, SD = 5.28) as measured by OSI and W-FCQ respectively. The occupational stress and work-family conflict’s mean scores of participants in REOHC group against those in the comparison group indicate improvement in management of occupational stress and work-family conflict.

Table 2.

Descriptive analysis of participants’ responses across groups, gender and measurements.

Group Gender OSI W-FCQ N
Mean SD Mean SD
Pretest REOHC group M 169.77 6.78 65.91 1.99 13
F 168.25 5.53 64.93 1.70 22
Total 168.81 5.97 65.29 1.85 35
Waitlisted control group M 158.63 8.12 62.41 4.40 18
F 158.26 9.25 61.95 5.25 17
Total 158.45 8.56 62.19 4.76 35
Posttest REOHC group M 122.68 6.95 43.44 4.39 13
F 121.42 9.11 43.68 5.28 22
Total 121.89 8.29 43.59 4.90 35
Waitlisted control group M 159.69 8.53 61.81 4.63 18
F 157.95 10.18 61.45 5.40 17
Total 158.84 9.27 61.64 4.95 35
Follow-up REOHC group M 120.29 6.39 38.85 6.13 13
F 118.92 8.46 41.92 5.81 22
Total 119.43 7.69 40.78 6.03 35
Waitlisted control group M 157.20 9.42 62.09 4.84 18
F 156.84 10.63 61.49 5.85 17
Total 157.02 9.88 61.80 5.28 35
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F = female, M = male, n = number of participants, OSI = occupational stress inventory, REOHC = rational-emotive occupational health coaching, SD = standard deviation, W-FCQ = Work-family conflict questionnaire.

As stated earlier with regard to the sphericity assumption violation, Table 3 suggests there was a significant effect of the treatment group in improving occupational stress management among educational administrators as measured by OSI, F (1, 66) = 131.114, P = .000, η²P = .67. The results also suggest a statistically significant effect of time on administrators’ occupational stress management as measured with the OSI, F (1.10, 72.68) = 648.100, P = .000, η²P = .91. The results also indicate that OSI scores as rated by administrators were influenced significantly by group and time interaction effect, F (1.10, 72.68) = 616.866, P = .01, η²P = .90. The results also indicate that administrators OSI scores were influenced significantly by time, group, and gender interaction effects, F (1.10, 72.68) = 0.166, P = .71, η²P = .01.

Table 3.

Repeated measures ANOVA results for administrators OSI scores (group, time, and interaction effects).

Source Type III sum of squares df Mean square F Sig. Partial eta squared
Group 22793.934 1, 66 22793.934 131.114 .01 0.67
Group * gender 3.971 1, 66 3.971 .023 .88 .01
Time Greenhouse-Geisser 26873.599 1.10, 72.68 24401.990 648.100 0.01 0.91
Time * group Greenhouse-Geisser 25578.497 1.10, 72.68 23226.000 616.866 0.01 0.90
Time * gender Greenhouse-Geisser 3.994 1.10, 72.68 3.626 .096 0.78 0.01
Time * group * gender Greenhouse-Geisser 6.870 1.10, 72.68 6.238 0.166 0.71 0.01
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OSI = occupational stress inventory.

With sphericity assumption violation in mind, a Greenhouse–Geisser correction was used and it (see Table 4) suggests a significant effect of the treatment group in improving work-family conflict among educational administrators as measured by W-FCQ, F (1, 66) = 131.123, P = .000, η²P = .67. Also, it shows a statistically significant effect of time on administrators’ work-family conflict management as measured with the OSI, F (1.79, 117.94) = 474.348, P = .000, η²P = .88. The results in Table 4 also indicate that W-FCQ scores as rated by administrators were influenced significantly by group and time interaction effect, F (1.79, 117.94) = 439.278, P = .01, η²P = .87. The results also indicate that administrators W-FCQ scores were influenced significantly by time, group, and gender interaction effects, F (1.79, 117.94) = 2.888, P = .06, η²P = .04.

Table 4.

Repeated measures ANOVA results for administrators work-family conflict scores (group, time, and interaction effects).

Source Type III sum of squares df Mean square F Sig. Partial eta squared
Group 7397.070 1, 66 7397.070 131.123 .000 .665
Group * gender 19.891 1, 66 19.891 .353 .555 .005
Time Huynh-Feldt 6518.296 1.79, 117.94 3400.503 474.348 .000 0.88
Time * group Huynh-Feldt 6036.376 1.79, 117.94 3149.093 439.278 .000 0.87
Time * gender Huynh-Feldt 33.275 1.79, 117.94 17.359 2.421 .095 0.04
Time * group * gender Huynh-Feldt 39.689 1.79, 117.94 20.705 2.888 0.06 0.04
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The post hoc comparison of the effect of Time for the OSI shows a mean change from Time 1 to Time 2 (mean difference = 23.29, standard error = 11.20, P < .001). From Time 2 through Time 3, the mean difference shows that for OSI score that the observed change was sustained at Time 3 (Mean difference = -2.12, standard error = 1.51, P = .000).

The results in Table 5 show the administrators in Time 2 had a lesser mean OSI score than the participants in the comparison group as given by holm post hoc analysis by Time (mean difference = -21.21, standard error = 1.85, P = .000). In Table 6, Holm post hoc analysis by group shows that the administrators in the REOHC intervention group had significantly improved OSI (mean difference = −21.21, standard error = 1.85, P < .001) and W-FCQ scores (mean difference = −12.08, standard error = 1.05, P < .001). In Figures 3 and 4, the result showed there is group and time interaction effect on the administrators’ OSI and W-FCQ scores.

Table 5.

Post Hoc comparisons - time (OSI and W-FCQ).

OSI W-FCQ
Mean different SE t pholm Mean different SE t pholm
Time 1 Time 2 23.29 11.20 29.74 < .001 11.20 0.45 24.85 < .001
Time 3 25.41 12.71 32.45 < .001 12.71 0.45 28.19 < .001
Time 2 Time 3 2.12 1.51 2.71 7.66e-3 1.51 0.45 3.34 1.09e-3
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P value adjusted for comparing a family of 3; Results are averaged over the levels of: Group, Gender.

OSI = occupational stress inventory, SE = standard error, W-FCQ = work-family conflict questionnaire.

Table 6.

Post Hoc comparisons - group (OSI and W-FCQ).

OSI W-FCQ
Mean Different SE t pholm Mean different SE t pholm
REOHC group Waitlisted control group −21.21 1.85 −11.45 < .001 −12.08 1.05 −11.45 < .001
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Results are averaged over the levels of: Gender, Time.

OSI = occupational stress inventory, REOHC = rational-emotive occupational health coaching, SE = standard error, W-FCQ = work-family conflict questionnaire.

Figure 3.

Figure 3.

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Group and time interaction effect on the administrators’ OSI. OSI = occupational stress inventory.

Figure 4.

Figure 4.

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Group and time interaction effect on the administrators W-FCQ. W-FCQ = work-family conflict questionnaire.

3. Discussion

The result shows that participants exposed to REBT model (REOHC) had a lower mean score in their stress management behavior than those who were not exposed. The result showed a significant effect of the REOHC group in improving occupational stress and work-family conflict management among educational administrators. The results also suggest a statistically significant effect of time on administrators’ occupational stress and work-family conflict management. The results also indicate that administrators’ occupational stress and work-family conflict coping skills were influenced significantly by group and time interaction effects. The results also indicate that administrators’ occupational stress and work-family conflict scores were influenced significantly by time, group, and gender interaction effects. This implies that participants exposed to experimental group had their occupational stress decreased than those in the control group. This also implies that REBT could be a veritable tool for the reduction of occupational stress among the employee in the selected location of the study. The finding of this study is in support of Nwokeoma et al[20] who carried out a study on the efficacy of REOHC work-related stress on Nigeria police staff. REBT was significant in reducing students’ aggressive behavior in Nigeria.[32] It was also noted that past studies on REBT program give organizational employees rational ways of decreasing occupational stress that emanate from workplace.[33,34] In the past that applied REBT principles, it was indicated that stress in the work environment could be managed effectively.[35] The present study has joined several studies to authenticate the previous empirical evidence that established the effectiveness of work-based rational-emotive coaching in being an impactful and beneficial preventative practice. In contrast to the results of this study, past literature claimed that the failure to handle employee-related stress is the primary issue with stress-related elements in any employee.[36] However, it is possible to change the wrong beliefs of administrative staff in primary schools about stress management. This is because REBT approaches change every employee’s belief system about stress management which they wrongly conceived. The study also showed that the employees exposed REBT approach had much better work-life balance than people in the comparison group. This study supports the idea that coaching in the workplace should focus on leading an effective and efficient life to increase productivity.[37] The founding that REOHC reduces work-family conflict related to irrational beliefs and improves their quality of work-life was in line with the study of David et al[38]

Similarly, past evidence also revealed the effectiveness of REBT-approached in altering maladaptive thoughts and misinterpretation events by career parents.[18,22,39] It is possible that those parents who are also educational administrators could be having challenges due to home factors. Home life and working life are 2 elements that affect each other correlatively. Conflicts can occasionally arise as a result of an individual’s duties in their family and professional lives.[40] Fatigue, poor performance, feeling underqualified and unwell at work, job dissatisfaction, and walk-outs are the most frequent issues caused by inconsistencies between family and work-life.[40] The results of this study have proved that the occupational health model of REBT is a promising intervention to help administrators in an educational setting to cope with stress and work-family conflict associated with administrative responsibilities. The benefit cognitive behavioral therapy could be used to change unfavorable attitudes and perceptions in the workplace.[23,41–43]

In terms of gender and group interaction, this study revealed that administrators’ occupational stress and work-family conflict scores were influenced significantly by time, group, and gender interaction effects. Like the current finding, past literature demonstrated that work-family conflicts are more prevalent for female instructors than for male teachers.[40] Many studies that looked at the effects of gender found that women encounter more conflicts in their personal and professional lives than do males.[44,45] One could understand that gender is a significant factor in running public offices as being a female or male administrator may home responsibilities that interfere with official assignments. According to Lo et al,[46] women, job and family problems worsen if the partner doesn’t support the family. Even while women participate in corporate life far more than they did in the past, it is evident that gender roles have not changed significantly.[40] Work-family conflicts are more prevalent for female instructors than for male teachers.[40] Many studies that looked at the effects of gender found that women encounter more conflicts in their personal and professional lives than do males.[44,45] Men’s primary responsibility is going to work and making money, whilst women are expected to take care of the home and the children.[47] Women consequently frequently struggle to balance their obligations to their families with those of their professional lives.[40] The outcome of this study is contrary to the past finding that there was no rational-emotive behavior coaching and gender interaction effect.[48]

4. Conclusion

Given the outcome of this study, it could be concluded revealed that REOHC is an effective and efficient therapeutic intervention procedure for cushioning the occupational stress and quality of work-life experienced by administrative staff in Nigerian primary schools. REOHC has shown to be a useful occupational therapy for the reduction of irrational beliefs of educational administrators. Specifically, the ill-perceptions responsible for the poor quality of the work-life were reduced, in that, the administrators exposed to REOHC intervention became more adaptable. This significant change was sustained over time. Based on the treatment outcome, we could finalize this study has validated previous studies regarding the powerful benefits of rational-emotive occupational therapy. Therefore, we encourage replication of the current findings in other cultures, and populations.

5. Implications for practice

The findings of this study are significant, therefore, have far-reaching implications for practitioners in the field of occupational health, education, counseling, administration, and others. Having documented that REBT principles are beneficial, it is expected that workers especially those in the administrative arm seek the attention of occupational health therapists and career counselors. Based on the finding, we recommend the practice of REBT in workplaces and most especially to administrative officials who coordinate affairs of public offices. If possible there should be REBT seminars annually that would conscientize and sensitize the employees and employers about the promising benefits of REBT in the work environment. This would improve the well-being of individuals in public offices.[49–51]

For policymakers in education, making critical decisions about administrators should involve how job-roles interferes with family responsibilities. The policies should clearly establish the time administrators should attend to their families. This could be done by giving them considerable time for leave.

6. Limitation of the study

This study has some limitations. Firstly, the participants were not sampled across different public and private employees. Secondly, the participants’ characteristics covered in this study were limited to only gender, qualifications, and years of experience neglecting other organizational and personal characteristics that could influence work-family conflict and work-stress such as the location of the school, marital status, and the number of children. Therefore, we employ future researchers to consider these in their subsequent studies.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants and research assistants for their task persistence throughout the conduct of this study.

Author contributions

Conceptualization: Faith C. Omeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede.

Data curation: Moses Onyemaechi Ede.

Formal analysis: Moses Onyemaechi Ede.

Funding acquisition: Faith C. Omeke, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede, Joy Obiageli Oneli.

Investigation: Faith C. Omeke, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede.

Methodology: Faith C. Omeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede.

Project administration: Faith C. Omeke, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede.

Resources: Faith C. Omeke, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede.

Software: Faith C. Omeke, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Moses nyemaechi Ede.

Supervision: Faith C. Omeke, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede, Joy Obiageli Oneli.

Validation: Faith C. Omeke, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede, Joy Obiageli Oneli.

Visualization: Faith C. Omeke, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede, Joy Obiageli Oneli.

Writing – original draft: Faith C. Omeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede.

Writing – review & editing: Faith C. Omeke, Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Moses Onyemaechi Ede, Joy Obiageli Oneli.

Abbreviations:

OSI
occupational stress inventory
REOHC
rational-emotive occupational health coaching
SD
standard deviation
W-FCQ
work-family conflict questionnaire

This is the first to test the effectiveness of rational-emotive health coaching on work-family conflict, based on the information available to the present researchers. Reporting the findings and assumptions of the mixed model ANOVA statistic used was also a strength.

Conflict of Interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

How to cite this article: Omeke FC, Okeke CI, Ede MO, Oneli JO. Coaching impact on work-family conflict and occupational stress among educational administrators in primary schools. Medicine 2023;102:10(e33185).

Contributor Information

Faith C. Omeke, Email: faithomekeunn@gmail.com.

Chinedu Ifedi Okeke, Email: okeco@gmail.com.

Moses Onyemaechi Ede, Email: onyemaechi.moses@gmail.com.

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