Stress coping styles among German managers

In a weekly managerial newspaper survey the abbreviated German version of the Occupational Stress Indicator’s Coping scale was completed anonymously by over 200 readers. Of these we selected only those who were categorised as management (n = 160) in our study. The mean coping score for the full Coping scale was 36.98 (SD 8.65) with a split half reliability of 0.76 (total alpha = 0.84). Alpha coefficients for the two subscales were 0.85 and 0.58. There was no difference in coping profiles of men and women, but different levels of management and educational status did influence preference for coping styles. More specifically, as we progress to the more senior levels of management, delegation and maintaining stable relationships are considered the most useful forms of coping with stress. The more academically trained manager with a postgraduate degree is more likely to implement such coping methods as effective time‐management and planning ahead.