Abstract

The Undergraduate Education Assessment (assessment) was launched to upgrade faculty’s performance, but it also tends to intensify their job stress. Considering the little empirical research on the influence of stress on performance in the assessment and the confounded findings in literature, the study collected data with a survey and interviews to explore the characteristics of faculty’s job stress and performance and their relationships by distinguishing their levels and nature. The findings include (1) academics were working under moderate levels of stress from their job specificity and organizational practice and higher levels of stress from their self-expectations; (2) the U-shaped relation between stress and performance is a product of faculty’s compensatory control and (3) work-context stress significantly affects teaching effectiveness, but not research productivity. The author explained the findings in the assessment and proposed practical implications for administrators and faculty members to manage their stress and stimulate performance.

Keywords: University faculty, assessment, job stress, performance, U-shaped relation.