Walker, Emma R. (2019) Coping with stress in the workplace: A cross national study. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Despite growing awareness around the impacts of workplace stress upon both the employee and organisation, work-related stress remains on the rise. It is clear from previous studies that specific types of coping are required to buffer the effects of such stressors. Whilst literature has identified gender differences in coping with day-to-day stressors, little is known about such in the context of the workplace. The present study aims to determine whether gender influences the coping strategy used (emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping or social support seeking) when faced with a workplace stressor, and whether the level of workplace stress mediates this effect. 626 participants (308 male, 318 female; M = 40.23, SD = 12.37) completed a survey, indicating their coping tendencies to workplace stressors through Likert scale responses. Mediation analysis and t-tests were used to determine gender differences and pathways between primary appraisal, stress and coping. Findings suggest that males and females engage in problem-focused and emotion-focused coping in equal amounts in the workplace, however only emotion-focused coping was triggered by workplace stressors in women. Neither males or females used social support seeking in the workplace. Males are slower to respond to workplace stressors than females, with no direct pathway between primary appraisal and coping. It is recommended that organisations introduce an anonymous online platform for males to engage in emotion-focused coping, alongside frequent peer meetings amongst female employees to encourage problem-solving behaviour when faced with a stressful workplace event.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Yong Wah Goh |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Nov 2025 05:02 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Nov 2025 05:02 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | workplace stress; coping; emotion-focused coping; problem-focused coping; social support seeking |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52852 |
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