Staying afloat in the storm: coping with work-related stress in healthcare professions

Purpose This study investigates how healthcare professionals cope with work-related stress and how organizational conditions enable or hinder these coping mechanisms. While stress in healthcare is well documented, this research focuses on the coping process itself, with particular attention to individual strategies in high-pressure settings. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design was adopted through 41 semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals. Thematic analysis was used to identify core themes related to stressors, coping responses and the role of organizational support in shaping these dynamics. Findings The study identified four interrelated themes: (1) enduring sources of stress – such as excessive workload, staff shortages and emotional strain – that shape daily experiences; (2) diverse coping strategies, with professionals balancing task-based approaches and emotional self-regulation; (3) the enabling or constraining role of organizational support, especially leadership involvement and ongoing training and (4) the crucial link between coping efficacy, employee well-being and the intention to remain in the profession. Together, these findings illustrate how personal resilience and organizational conditions dynamically interact in shaping healthcare professionals’ capacity to manage stress. Practical implications The findings suggest that healthcare organizations should enhance supportive leadership, provide stress management training and ensure sufficient staffing. Recognizing and reinforcing individual coping efforts through structural support can improve well-being, performance and retention. Originality/value The study offers a novel contribution by shifting the focus from stress outcomes to coping processes, emphasizing individual mechanisms rarely addressed in healthcare research. It enriches the JD-R framework by integrating personal coping strategies with organizational context.