Gender-Based Analyses of Coping with Stress among Professional Managers: Leisure Coping and Non-Leisure Coping

Abstract

Despite the growth of leisure and stress-coping research, gender-based analyses of leisure stress-coping have been performed rarely. The purpose of the present study was to examine how female and male managers cope with stress, using data collected from a series of focus groups. The focus group questions were designed to elicit information about the range of methods these individuals used to cope with stress and the contribution of leisure (generally and leisure travel in particular) to this process. The results demonstrated that female and male managers rely on a broad range of coping methods—including leisure specific strategies—as life-survival techniques. Although sharing a number of common stress-coping themes (e.g., socialization through leisure, deflecting stress-inducing thoughts through leisure, feeling rejuvenated through leisure, leisure as personal space, humour/laughter, spiritual coping, altruistic leisure coping, leisure travel), there also were themes unique to female managers (e.g., preventative role of leisure/exercise) and male managers (e.g., playing hard in leisure). These unique gender-based variations in stress-coping appear to be linked to differences in life circumstances and stressors women and men face in work, domestic, and leisure domains, and the gendered nature of women's and men's life experiences.