Background: This article presents the results obtained using a new tool for measuring psychosocial burdens in teaching profession - the Questionnaire of Occupational Burdens in Teaching (QOBT). In its first theoretical part, some typologies of stressors in teaching, developed in other countries, are presented and the need to construct a new tool in Poland is discussed. Material and Methods: In this part, the construction process of the new tool and its three scales comprising: Conflict Situations, Organizational Burdens and Lack of Work Sense are described. The psychometric features of the new questionnaire (e.g., Cronbach α = 0.63-0.84) are also given. The results are based on a large random sample of teachers from the Łódź voivodeship. Results and Conclusions: The results did not show significant differences in the level of occupational burdens between men and women. Generally, neither are seniority and age related to the level of burdens. One exception are Organizational burdens that slightly more affect older teachers. The study also showed the need to incorporate the activities at the organizational level into programs on occupational stress.
Med Pr 2008;59(3):229-235