Coping with Occupational Stress in Healthcare

The present study investigates the role of both occupational stress, and two coping methods, problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping, in the prediction of job satisfaction among health care professionals. Utilizing a survey questionnaire, data were collected from 168 full-time social workers and 155 nurses. Both groups differed significantly on measures of perceived job stress, job satisfaction and the use of three coping methods. Separate multiple regressions were completed for social workers and nurses to examine the relative influence of job stress and coping on job satisfaction. For both groups, perceived job stress was the greatest contributor to job satisfaction. Some methods of coping also were significantly related to job satisfaction, however, these differed between the two groups.