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Abstract
This study explores the emotional challenges and coping strategies of temporary permanent faculty members in a state college in the Bicol Region, whose positions were opened for public application, placing them in a state of employment precarity. Anchored on Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, this qualitative case study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of how faculty members perceive, experience, and respond to job-related uncertainty. Five faculty members from diverse disciplines—Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, Electrical Technology, and Agriculture—participated in semi-structured, one-on-one interviews. Through thematic analysis, key emotional responses were identified, including persistent anxiety, diminished self-worth, professional disillusionment, and fear of displacement. The analysis also revealed coping mechanisms rooted in relational, cognitive, and spiritual domains, such as leaning on familial and peer support, engaging in religious reflection, and reframing negative experiences with professional optimism. These findings illuminate how employment insecurity not only disrupts professional stability but also deeply impacts faculty well-being and institutional trust. The study suggests the urgent need for transparent and supportive communication protocols in higher education institutions to buffer the psychosocial toll of employment transitions.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
Ramiso, D. C. (2025). Emotional Challenges and Coping Mechanisms of Temporary Faculty in a Philippine State College. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research, 6(5), 2331-2344. https://doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.06.05.19
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Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative re-search in psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brown, C. L., Brown, C. L., West, T. V., Sanchez, A. H., & Mendes, W. B. (2020). Emotional empathy in the social regulation of dis-tress: A dyadic approach. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(6), 1004–1019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220953987
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Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. T. (2003). De-velopment of a new resilience scale: The Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.10113
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Dimitrijević, S. D. (2014). Family as an agent of socialization in the transitional society: Sociological aspects. Zbornik Radova Filozofskog Fakulteta u Prištini, 44(1), 237–247. https://doi.org/10.5937/ZRFFP44-5903
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Hershcovis, M. S., Cameron, A. F., Gervais, L., & Bozeman, J. (2018). The effects of con-frontation and avoidance coping in re-sponse to workplace incivility. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 23(2), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000078
Hoffmann, E. A. (2007). Open-ended inter-views, power, and emotional labor. Jour-nal of Contemporary Ethnography, 36(3), 318–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241606293134
Horwitz, A. V., & Wakefield, J. C. (2007). The loss of sadness: How psychiatry trans-formed normal sorrow into depressive dis-order. Oxford University Press.
Iwasaki, Y. (2002). Testing independent and buffer models of the influence of leisure participation on stress-coping and adap-tational outcomes. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 20(4), 90–109.
Kawachi, I., & Berkman, L. F. (2001). Social ties and mental health. Journal of Urban Health, 78, 458–467. https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/78.3.458
Kiger, M. E., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher, 42(8), 846–854. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030
Klainot-Hess, E. (2020). Teaching on contract: Job satisfaction among non-tenure-track faculty. In Professional work: Knowledge, power and social inequalities (pp. 59–82). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-283320200000034007
Knapp, S., & Sweeny, K. (2022). Stress and cop-ing with stress. In Routledge Resources Online - Psychology in the Real World. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367198459-REPRW91-1
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publish-ing Company. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_215
Meltzer, H., Bebbington, P., Brugha, T., Jenkins, R., McManus, S., & Stansfeld, S. (2010). Job insecurity, socio-economic circum-stances and depression. Psychological medicine, 40(8), 1401-1407. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291709991802
Merz, E. M., Consedine, N. S., Schulze, H. J., & Schuengel, C. (2009). Wellbeing of adult children and ageing parents: Associations with intergenerational support and rela-tionship quality. Ageing & Society, 29(5), 783–802. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X09008514
Miralao, V. A. (1997). The family, traditional values and the sodocultural transfor-mation of Philippine society. Philippine Sociological Review, 45(1/4), 189-215. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41853694
Mohd Shakir, M., & Zia, A. (2015). Temporary job and permanent stress. Journal of Edu-cation and Practice, 5(14), 144–150.
Naifeh, J. A., Tull, M. T., & Gratz, K. L. (2012). Anxiety sensitivity, emotional avoidance, and PTSD symptom severity among crack/cocaine dependent patients in res-idential treatment. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(3), 247–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10608-010-9337-8
Noor, K. B. M. (2008). Case study: A strategic research methodology. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 5(11), 1602–1604. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2008.1602.1604
Ogormegbunem, D. E. (2014). The changing nature of the family and its duty as foun-dation for morals and sustenance of core societal value. Journal of Sociology and Social Work, 2(1), 195–209.
Peres, J. F., Moreira-Almeida, A., Nasello, A. G., & Koenig, H. G. (2007). Spirituality and resilience in trauma victims. Journal of Religion and Health, 46, 343–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-006-9103-0
Reevy, G. M., & Deason, G. (2014). Predictors of depression, stress, and anxiety among non-tenure track faculty. Frontiers in Psy-chology, 5, 701. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00701
Sellar, T., Arulrajah, A. A., & Lanka, V. (2018). The role of social support on job burnout in the apparel firm. International Business Research, 12(1), 110. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v12n1p110
Shin, J. C., & Jung, J. (2014). Academics job sat-isfaction and job stress across countries in the changing academic environments. Higher Education, 67, 603–620. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9668-y
Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Shapiro, D. L. (2004). The future of work motivation theory. Academy of Management Review, 29(3), 379–387. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2004.13670978
Tanimoto, A. S., Segerbäck, J., Richter, A., & Lindfors, P. (2025). Insecurity and psy-chological well-being among faculty in academia: Exploring the constraints and conduits of positive psychological func-tioning. International Journal of Qualita-tive Studies on Health and Well-Being, 20(1), 2474361. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2025.2474361
Uştuk, Ö., & Çomoğlu, İ. (2021). Reflexive pro-fessional development in reflective prac-tice: What lesson study can of-fer. International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies, 10(3), 260-273. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLLS-12-2020-0092
Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. Wiley.
Wege, N., Angerer, P., & Li, J. (2017). Effects of Lifetime Unemployment Experience and Job Insecurity on Two-Year Risk of Phy-sician-Diagnosed Incident Depression in the German Working Population. Interna-tional Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(8), 904. https://doi.org/10.3390/IJERPH14080904
Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (2001). Journeys from childhood to midlife: Risk, resilience, and recovery. Cornell University Press.
Yin, R. K. (2012). Case study methods. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2. Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsycholog-ical, and biological (pp. 141–155). Ameri-can Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13620-009
Bacci, G., Viotti, S., Bertola, L., Converso, D., & Loera, B. (2024). All that glitters is not gold! Job insecurity and well-being in STEM research fellows: A latent profile analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1347966. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1347966
Barr, A. L., Knight, L., França-Junior, I., Allen, E., Naker, D., & Devries, K. M. (2017). Methods to increase reporting of child-hood sexual abuse in surveys: The sensi-tivity and specificity of face-to-face inter-views versus a sealed envelope method in Ugandan primary school children. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 17(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12914-016-0110-2
Baskarada, S. (2014). Qualitative case study guidelines. The Qualitative Report, 19(40), 1–25. http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR19/baskarada24.pdf
Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and im-plementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544–559. http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR13-4/baxter.pdf
Baumeister, R. F., Dale, K., & Sommer, K. L. (1998). Freudian defense mechanisms and empirical findings in modern social psychology: Reaction formation, projec-tion, displacement, undoing, isolation, sublimation, and denial. Journal of Per-sonality, 66(6), 1081–1124. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494.00043
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative re-search in psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brown, C. L., Brown, C. L., West, T. V., Sanchez, A. H., & Mendes, W. B. (2020). Emotional empathy in the social regulation of dis-tress: A dyadic approach. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(6), 1004–1019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220953987
Buqo, T. (2021). Emotional responding and adversity. In The science of emotional in-telligence (p. 119). https://doi.org/10.5772/INTECHOPEN.97932
Chadha, N. (2021). Adversity quotient: Surviv-ing rather than giving up. Psychology and Education Journal, 58(2), 5942–5947. https://doi.org/10.17762/PAE.V58I2.3068
Chesebro, J. W., & Borisoff, D. J. (2007). What makes qualitative research qualitative? Qualitative Research Reports in Commu-nication, 8(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/17459430701617846
Civil Service Commission. (2018). MC No. 14, s. 2018 - 2017 Omnibus Rules on Appoint-ments and Other Human Resource Ac-tions, Revised July 2018. https://csc.gov.ph/downloads/2017-oraohra
Clarke, D. M., & Kissane, D. W. (2002). Demor-alization: Its phenomenology and im-portance. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36(6), 733–742. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1614.2002.01086.x
Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. T. (2003). De-velopment of a new resilience scale: The Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.10113
Cramer, P. (2015). Understanding defense mechanisms. Psychodynamic psychia-try, 43(4), 523-552. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494.00035
Dimitrijević, S. D. (2014). Family as an agent of socialization in the transitional society: Sociological aspects. Zbornik Radova Filozofskog Fakulteta u Prištini, 44(1), 237–247. https://doi.org/10.5937/ZRFFP44-5903
Froggatt, K. (1997). Rites of passage and the hospice culture. Mortality, 2(2), 123–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/713685862
Gealone, P. J. N., Bron, R. G. A., Samar, R. P., Barajas, J. R. B., & Dorosan, A. A. (2023). Faculty Complement Gap Analysis: A Case Study in a State University in the Philip-pines. In 2023 Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS) (pp. 208-213). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/SIEDS58326.2023.10137771
González Ramírez, M. T., & Vanegas Farfano, M. (2013). Los pasatiempos y sus efectos en el manejo del estrés y el burnout. Summa Psicológica UST, 10(2), 21–28. http://eprints.uanl.mx/id/eprint/19074
Hartwell, S. W., & Benson, P. R. (2007). Social integration: A conceptual overview and two case studies. In Mental health, social mirror (pp. 329–353). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36320-214
Hershcovis, M. S., Cameron, A. F., Gervais, L., & Bozeman, J. (2018). The effects of con-frontation and avoidance coping in re-sponse to workplace incivility. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 23(2), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000078
Hoffmann, E. A. (2007). Open-ended inter-views, power, and emotional labor. Jour-nal of Contemporary Ethnography, 36(3), 318–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241606293134
Horwitz, A. V., & Wakefield, J. C. (2007). The loss of sadness: How psychiatry trans-formed normal sorrow into depressive dis-order. Oxford University Press.
Iwasaki, Y. (2002). Testing independent and buffer models of the influence of leisure participation on stress-coping and adap-tational outcomes. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 20(4), 90–109.
Kawachi, I., & Berkman, L. F. (2001). Social ties and mental health. Journal of Urban Health, 78, 458–467. https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/78.3.458
Kiger, M. E., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher, 42(8), 846–854. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030
Klainot-Hess, E. (2020). Teaching on contract: Job satisfaction among non-tenure-track faculty. In Professional work: Knowledge, power and social inequalities (pp. 59–82). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-283320200000034007
Knapp, S., & Sweeny, K. (2022). Stress and cop-ing with stress. In Routledge Resources Online - Psychology in the Real World. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367198459-REPRW91-1
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publish-ing Company. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_215
Meltzer, H., Bebbington, P., Brugha, T., Jenkins, R., McManus, S., & Stansfeld, S. (2010). Job insecurity, socio-economic circum-stances and depression. Psychological medicine, 40(8), 1401-1407. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291709991802
Merz, E. M., Consedine, N. S., Schulze, H. J., & Schuengel, C. (2009). Wellbeing of adult children and ageing parents: Associations with intergenerational support and rela-tionship quality. Ageing & Society, 29(5), 783–802. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X09008514
Miralao, V. A. (1997). The family, traditional values and the sodocultural transfor-mation of Philippine society. Philippine Sociological Review, 45(1/4), 189-215. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41853694
Mohd Shakir, M., & Zia, A. (2015). Temporary job and permanent stress. Journal of Edu-cation and Practice, 5(14), 144–150.
Naifeh, J. A., Tull, M. T., & Gratz, K. L. (2012). Anxiety sensitivity, emotional avoidance, and PTSD symptom severity among crack/cocaine dependent patients in res-idential treatment. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(3), 247–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10608-010-9337-8
Noor, K. B. M. (2008). Case study: A strategic research methodology. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 5(11), 1602–1604. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2008.1602.1604
Ogormegbunem, D. E. (2014). The changing nature of the family and its duty as foun-dation for morals and sustenance of core societal value. Journal of Sociology and Social Work, 2(1), 195–209.
Peres, J. F., Moreira-Almeida, A., Nasello, A. G., & Koenig, H. G. (2007). Spirituality and resilience in trauma victims. Journal of Religion and Health, 46, 343–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-006-9103-0
Reevy, G. M., & Deason, G. (2014). Predictors of depression, stress, and anxiety among non-tenure track faculty. Frontiers in Psy-chology, 5, 701. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00701
Sellar, T., Arulrajah, A. A., & Lanka, V. (2018). The role of social support on job burnout in the apparel firm. International Business Research, 12(1), 110. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v12n1p110
Shin, J. C., & Jung, J. (2014). Academics job sat-isfaction and job stress across countries in the changing academic environments. Higher Education, 67, 603–620. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9668-y
Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Shapiro, D. L. (2004). The future of work motivation theory. Academy of Management Review, 29(3), 379–387. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2004.13670978
Tanimoto, A. S., Segerbäck, J., Richter, A., & Lindfors, P. (2025). Insecurity and psy-chological well-being among faculty in academia: Exploring the constraints and conduits of positive psychological func-tioning. International Journal of Qualita-tive Studies on Health and Well-Being, 20(1), 2474361. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2025.2474361
Uştuk, Ö., & Çomoğlu, İ. (2021). Reflexive pro-fessional development in reflective prac-tice: What lesson study can of-fer. International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies, 10(3), 260-273. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLLS-12-2020-0092
Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. Wiley.
Wege, N., Angerer, P., & Li, J. (2017). Effects of Lifetime Unemployment Experience and Job Insecurity on Two-Year Risk of Phy-sician-Diagnosed Incident Depression in the German Working Population. Interna-tional Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(8), 904. https://doi.org/10.3390/IJERPH14080904
Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (2001). Journeys from childhood to midlife: Risk, resilience, and recovery. Cornell University Press.
Yin, R. K. (2012). Case study methods. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2. Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsycholog-ical, and biological (pp. 141–155). Ameri-can Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13620-009