Improving well-being through effective stress management for working class mothers in Enugu State

Abstract

The concept of well-being is beyond just staying alive. It entails what is good and in the self-interest of a person. People’s well-being is generally inhibited by different factors, among which is stress. Stress is seen as the rate of wear and tear caused by life experiences and thus has become one of the serious emotional health problems people face globally. This is moreso for working class mothers who have to combine homemaking with office work, hence their ability to manage stress would go a long way in improving their well-being. It is on this premise that this study was conducted. Two specific objectives and corresponding research questions and hypotheses guided this study. Descriptive survey design was adopted. The population comprises working class mothers in Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu, numbering 1,350, out of which 10% was sampled. Structured questionnaire was used for data collection while mean and t-test were used for analyzing research questions and testing the hypotheses respectively. It was found, among others that school runs and other family interferences as well as poor working conditions are the major sources of stress for working class mothers. It was also revealed that engaging house help, adopting healthy sleep habit, cordial staff relationship among others are some of the strategies for coping with stress. The study recommends, among others, that the organizational management should introduce more holiday and other welfare incentives to allow working class mothers maintain a healthy work-life balance.