Examining the stress and coping process of mega‐event employees

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine specific stressors present in mega‐event work and the coping strategies used by long‐term mega‐event employees. Design/methodology/approach – Using a general inductive approach to analyze the data and identify themes, semi‐structured interviews with six employees from organizing committees of subsequent National Football League (NFL) Super Bowls, and four employees from the Special Olympics in Greece helped to assess the presence of specific stressors and the corresponding coping strategies. Findings – Patterns relating to the specific stressors (i.e. workload, time pressure, role stressors, job insecurity and work‐family conflict) and several themes emerged across all stressors including the selflessness of the participants in making personal sacrifices due to work demands. A sense of time and place emerged since the participants were cognizant of their role in a prestigious event. Time was also relevant as the end‐date approached which was simultaneously a source of stress and the date when their stress would be over. For most, the period after this end‐date was marked by a sense of sadness and a desire to repeat the experience. Finally, the career paths of the participants appeared to influence their actions and coping strategies. Originality/value – Work in mega‐event organizing committees has not been examined from a stress and coping perspective; this study is the first to examine issues in this unique work setting by applying stress theory. Moreover, the findings suggest that organizing committee employees appraise and cope with stress differently than in more traditional contexts.