Coping strategies
The types of coping strategies employed by individuals
in response to stressors have attracted much theoretical
and empirical attention. A key model used to understand
the relationship between workplace stressors and
coping is the Transactional Model of Stress-Coping
(Lazarus & Folkman 1984). The model broadly proposes
that psychological stress is the outcome of a
mismatch between the person and the ‘environmental
event’. While many variations of categorizations of
coping strategies have been developed, Lazarus and
Folkman (1984) identified two main types of coping
strategies. Emotion-focused strategies are usually those
that aim to lessen emotional distress (Lazarus & Folkman
1984, 150), while problem-focused strategies are
directed at problem definition, generation of alternative
solutions, weighing of alternatives, choice and
action (Lazarus & Folkman 1984).