How Palestinian managers cope with stress

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to identify the primary and crucial stressors that Palestinian employees encounter, and in turn design appropriate stress management and prevention strategies that will promote healthy organizations. Design/methodology/approach – A survey questionnaire was utilized for collecting data from 400 originations (response rate 77 percent). SPSS (version 12) was used mainly for paired samples t ‐test after transforming and recoding the personality type scale to the same format of the work environment conditions. The Cronbach's alpha test was used for questions 13, 14 to ensure the reliability. Findings – The differences in employees' personality types, and their stress coping styles, are the primary stressors. Palestinian personality type A, a major factor, largely influenced by living conditions. Employees in the private sector experience more stress than those in public or NGO sectors. Prevention strategies are needed to improve coping skills against the demanding conditions. Practical implications – Prevention strategies are needed to focus on the employees and improve their coping skills against the demanding conditions through initiatives such as employee assistance programs (EAPs). At a national level, collaboration among industry, labor, universities and ministries is needed to form an occupational health and safety institute to conduct research and monitor the stress in private and public organizations. Originality/value – This is one of the first empirical studies of organizational stress and prevention strategies in Palestinian organizations. It is valuable to researchers, senior managers, and policy developers for managerial and organizational development in developing countries and conflict regions.