**4. Coping strategies**

In order to manage stress, it is essential to change ones' own cognitive and behavioral efforts in dealing with the external or internal stimuli that is causing the stress and this is referred to as coping. Coping strategies can be worked out at both organizational level and also at personal levels. When it comes to organizational levels, it is first important for the management to understand the causative factors in the organization and come up with suitable measures. NIOSH recommends the following strategies for organizations to help their employees cope with occupational stress [4]:


On personal front, there are a few coping strategies that an individual can explore to overcome occupational stress. First among them is seeking social support—irrespective of what the social support can provide, be it in terms of advice or suitable contacts or material help or just a distraction, getting in touch with a human contact is valued when one is undergoing stress [5]. Seeking social support is also said to help an individual to overcome exhaustion and work–family conflicts [6]. The next strategy is the "problem-solving" strategy, wherein the individual can put up a fight against the stressor, and this goes beyond just identifying the stressor. Studies have also shown that the problem-solving strategy helps an individual to gain more control over the job and thus overcome occupational stress [7]. The last strategy is the "avoidance" strategy which is equated to running away from the stressor and is a form of escapism [8]. Even though studies have shown a positive correlation between avoidance and emotional exhaustion [9], certain longitudinal studies indicate that avoidance can potentially lead to depression 10 years down the road or more chronic and acute conditions 4 years later [10].

## **5. Conclusion**

All kinds of work require some amount of physical and mental effort and hence when done over a long period of time can lead to stress. Mental wellbeing is being spoken about all over the world, and several leaders across the globe are coming up with strategies such as four-day workweek or remote working to reduce the amount of time that an individual spends at work and ensure that he or she is able to attain work–life balance. However, it is usually not the amount of time spent at workplace that is the stressor, but what happens during the work time, irrespective of whether it is at home (while working remotely) or at office is what matters. For example, it is almost impossible for an individual to forget a berating that he or she received during the day from his or her boss even after returning home and may even have a disturbed sleep due to that. Studies on burnout indicate that all the biggest sources of occupational stress come from an individual's boss—unreasonable timelines, lack of support, heavy workload, unfair treatment and unclear communication [3]. Hence, managers have to realize that with the mental wellbeing of their workers comes an increase in productivity and profit; hence, they must lend a listening ear to their issues at the workplace and try to sort things out so that it becomes a win-win situation for both parties. When coping strategies are implemented from both fronts, that is, from the management and from the employee, it would be much easier to get relieved from occupational stress.

*Introductory Chapter: Occupational Stress and General Coping Strategies DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110803*
