A comparative study on coping styles in male and female professionals in the workplace

Stress is frequently thought of as a process that entails identifying and reacting to danger or threat. On the other hand, coping is a key component of this process and involves both overt and covert reactions to threats or dangers, usually with the goal of lowering stress levels overall. It is widely acknowledged that occupational stress is a worldwide issue that impacts both people and companies. The purpose of this study is to determine whether men and women use different coping mechanisms in response to work-related stress. Three distinct occupational fraternities-the health care sector, the educational sector, and corporate executives-are the subjects of the study, which was carried out in the city of Kolkata, India.. In the current study, 450 respondents (n=200) were sampled, with 50% of them being male and 50% being female. The numerous coping behaviors that people like to engage in response to stressful situations in an attempt to reduce their level of discomfort are measured using the BRIEF COPE Scale by Carver 1989. Problem-focused coping, emotionfocused coping, and avoidant coping were the three types of coping methods that were examined. This research is descriptive in nature and essentially an explorative study. The findings showed that when faced with a stressful scenario at work, men and women adopt different process models, indicating disparities in their stress coping strategies. This study's limitations and ramifications are also examined. This study should contribute to analysing and understanding employee stress coping and eventually is expected to help in EAP with the primary goal of employee wellbeing.