Stress How Are We Coping December 2006

8/8/2019 Stress How Are We Coping December 2006

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/stress-how-are-we-coping-december-2006 1/13

Stress: How Are We Coping?

A Survey Report by ACQYRDecember 2006

ACQYR 364 Old Kingston Road, Box 97578 Toronto, ON M1C4Z1 1.877.438.3048 | [email protected] | http://www.acqyr.com

http://www.acqyr.com/


mailto:[email protected]




Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1

Overview 2

Survey Methodology 2

Respondent Details 3

Survey Findings 4

Diversionary Techniques 6

Meditation & Breathing Techniques and/or Prayer 6

Talking to Friends & Family 6

Keep On Keeping On 7

Survey Conclusions 8

Stress Busters: The ACQYR Solution 9

What People Are Saying 10

About ACQYR 11

Contact ACQYR 11

ACQYR | 1.877.438.3048 | [email protected] | http://www.acqyr.com

Stress – How Are We Coping? 1







Executive Summary

Over the summer of 2006, ACQYR, a

Toronto-based provider of skills

development reports, training, coaching and

seminars for individuals, teams and

organizations conducted a social survey to

establish how individuals coped with stress.

The survey was conducted online andrespondents were solicited through a

variety of business, shopping and health-

related online forums. The vast majority

(94.5%) of the 478 respondents were from

North America.

A significant percentage of respondents’

occupations (31.7%) fell under the cover of

professional, administrative, senior and

other management. The remaining

comprised full-time parents (17.6%),

students (12.1%), technical (7.1%), self-

employed (6.7%), unemployed (6.3%),

sales (5%), governmental (3.6%) and

retired (2.1%). Some 7.7 percent of

respondents listed their occupation as

“other.”

The survey was a combination of open-

ended and close-ended questions. The

open-ended questions allowed participants

to describe the type of stress training they

had received either by workplace, school or

independent study. As well, these open

questions asked respondents how they

coped with stress, and how stress training

could be improved.

As with numerous other studies,

respondents stated that they felt stressed

on a regular basis, with finances, family and

work being the main culprits.

However, what was unexpected was that

almost eight in 10 people (77.8%) felt that

they have not been adequately trained in

stress management. Those that did feel that

they had received adequate training pointed

to on-the-job stress and time management

training.

When asked how they cope with stress, all

the respondents’ answers fell into four

almost equal categories: diversionarytechniques, meditation and/or prayer,

talking to friends and family, and a category

we called “keep on keeping on”, which

consisted of people who have little-to-no

effective coping techniques.

While there was a tacit understanding of

various standard coping and relaxation

techniques including breathing techniques,

exercise and the importance of a healthy

lifestyle, with 8 in 10 respondents stating

that they were not adequately trained, there

seemed to be an active gap between

knowing what to do and knowing how to do

it.



How Are We Coping?









Respondent Details

The survey comprised 478 respondents, of which 71.5 percent (342) were female and

28.5 percent (128) were male.

Respondent rates were 95.4 percent North American, with 24.3 percent coming from

Canada and 71.1 percent from the United States. Other participants came from the

United Kingdom (2.5 percent), India (0.6 percent), China (0.2 percent) and Japan (0.2

percent).

The level of education was quite high, with the majority having some college or

university education (37.9%), or reporting to be a college or university graduate (32.4%).

[Table A] This is in line with the age range of the participants, of whom some 36.6% were

between the ages of 25 and 34 years old. [Table B]



37.9%

32.4%

15.3%

7.9%4.2%

Some College/UniversityCollege/University GraduateHigh School GraduatePost-Graduate WorkPost-Graduate DegreeSome High School

Table A: Education

19.5%

36.6%

24.1%

14.0%

Less than 18 years old18-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465+Prefer Not to Answer

Table B: Age







A significant percentage of respondents’ occupations (31.7%) fell under the cover of

professional, administrative, senior and other management. The remaining comprised

full-time parents (17.6%), students (12.1%), technical (7.1%), self-employed (6.7%),

unemployed (6.3%), sales (5%), government (3.6%), and retired (2.1%). Some 7.7

percent of respondents listed their occupation as “other.”

Survey Findings

The results to questions concerning stress frequency were not unexpected, as

numerous other surveys and studies have reported that people feel stressed on a

regular basis. [Table C] As well, the usual culprits – finances, family and work – were

cited as the main stress triggers.

In addition when survey participants were asked to describe how they felt when

stressed, the most common descriptors were “exhausted”, “anxious”, “burnt-out” and

“distracted.”

What was unexpected was that almost eight in 10 people (77.8%) felt that they have not

been adequately trained in stress management. [Table D]



42.2%

31.6%

22.0%

4.2%

Regularly

Often (several times a month)Sometimes (a few times a month)Rarely (a few times a year)

Table C: Stress Frequency







The survey then launched several open-ended questions designed to encourage

participants to talk about stress and stress management.

Of the 22.2% of respondents who felt they had adequate training, more than half (54%)

pointed to on-the-job workshops and training sessions on time management and stress

management. Private stress relief training and methods including self-help books, yoga

and breathing techniques comprised approximately one-third of the answers. University,

college and school training completed the remaining answers.

When it came to the question that asked,

“How could future stress management

training improve so that it would help you

better manage stress?” the common

response was to improve and/or implement

follow-up sessions instead of a one-off day

of training. Other respondents noted that

they wanted tips and techniques that could

be easily implemented into their daily

routine.

When asked, “How do you, personally,

cope with stress?” four broad categories

became evident. [Table E]



Yes

No

Table D: Do You Feel Adequately Trained In Stress Management?

Stress Coping Categories

1. Diversionary Techniques:

• Sports and Exercise

• Media (TV, Internet, Music, Reading)

•Food, Drink or Medication

2. Meditation & Breathing Techniques

and/or Prayer

3. Talking to Friends & Family

4. Keep On Keeping On

Table E: Stress Coping Strategies







Responses were divided across four categories and often the individual survey

participants listed several methods of coping that fit into two or three of the categories.

(For example: “Prayer and talking to my spouse” and “Meditate, work-out and spend

time with my wife and son.”)

Diversionary Techniques

From examining the large variety of answers, it was evident that the majority of people

turned to diversionary techniques to help them relax – with sports and exercise forming

the lion’s share of the responses. Other common responses included watching

television, surfing the internet, reading, music and video games. Lastly, a smaller

percentage of respondents admitted to having alcoholic beverages to forget about the

day’s stresses or indulging in food and legal or illegal painkillers and drugs to cope.

Meditation & Breathing Techniques and/or Prayer

Many respondents listed meditation, yoga and breathing techniques as useful

techniques for coping with stress. Others used prayer as a meditative technique to cope

with stress and reduce anxiety. These techniques were often used as a “time out”

technique to step back from the situation and lower the physical signs of stress, such as

increased heart rate, headaches, and tension in the neck and shoulders.

Talking to Friends & Family

In almost equal amounts as meditation, breathing techniques and/or prayer,

communicating and talking with friends (colleagues included) and family was another

common method of relaxing. Being able to share the burden of a stressful day helped

respondents maintain a sense of perspective and acquire constructive feedback on how

to approach a problem or obstacle.









Keep On Keeping On

Respondents from the Keep On Keeping On category admitted to being unable to cope

very well. It was simply a matter of getting through the day until the stress “went away”

with a welcomed night of sleep or of its own accord. Some comments to the question of

how respondents cope with stress included:

“Not well. I get stressed at work and feel that, at times, I cannot deal with my

position.”

“I don’t. I let it build and I avoid the things that stress me out. Eventually I have to do

those things, and the stress comes back. I do however exercise and get my sleep whichhelps me stay calm and relaxed.”

“Grit my teeth and bear it.”

“I tend to pull away from people and do my best to be alone. The more stressed I

get, the more distracted I get so I try to physically remove myself to a quiet space so that

I can concentrate.”

“Poorly, I tend to get migraine headaches when there is more stress.”

“I act it out physically, whether it is by hitting someone or by breaking things.

Otherwise, I cry a lot and get angry.”

“I really don’t cope. I just try to ignore it and hope it will die down.”

“I cry and mostly just hold it in. I don’t let a lot of people into my personal space.”









Survey Conclusions

Stress is unavoidable and the survey

appeared to show that people expect to

have a certain amount of stress in their

lives. Often short periods of stress can be

relieved by going for a walk around the

block, talking to friends or soaking in a tuband getting a good night’s sleep. However

when stress is not addressed, it can cross

the line into chronic stress. Chronic, or

continuous, stress can be psychologically,

emotionally and physically damaging.

Survey respondents seemed to have a

firm understanding of how to treat the

symptoms of the stress, but, considering

that 8 in 10 people did not feel adequately

trained to deal with stress, there seemed

to be a “knowing-doing” gap in effective

coping strategies.

As well, it seemed evident that survey

respondents were not always sure how to

address the root cause. Effective

solutions to create more balance and

control in the respondents’ everyday lifesuch as delegation or time management

were not mentioned as coping

techniques, even when respondents had

answered positively that had stress

training.

Of those using diversionary tactics to

cope, the ones most readily seen as

positive relaxation techniques include:

exercise, music and reading. Television,

Internet surfing, and video games canoften maintain or increase stress levels

due to continual, low-level, “fight-or-flight”

triggers associated with the nature of

adult programming, including tragic news

events, crime and suspense films or

television shows.

With stress and stress-related illnesses

becoming such a dominate force in our

lives and workplaces it is seeminglyunfathomable how a whopping 8 in 10

people do not feel like they have

adequate training to cope, relax and find

solutions to their day-to-day stress

triggers. Schools and businesses need to

implement readily available stress

programs that can be used easily,

effectively and on an everyday basis.

Survey respondents felt that training

should be inclusive and company-wideinstead of restricted to senior

management teams.



How Are We Coping?







Stress Busters: The ACQYR Solution

Based on this and other research, ACQYR has developed Stress Busters, a complete

stress management program that features a 180-page binder packed with tips for

handling stress, solutions to 30 common stress triggers, self-assessments and case

studies. The program also includes worksheets and interviews with stress experts like

Dr. Melissa Stoppler as well as stress myths and tips on dealing with seasonal stress.

The program is backed up with two coaching sessions.

Learn more at www.acqyr.com.



STRESS BUSTERS HIGHLIGHTS









What People Are Saying










About ACQYR

ACQYR is a privately-held provider of skills development reports, training, coaching and

seminars for individuals, teams and organizations. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada,

ACQYR collaborates with management consultants, conflict resolution experts and

medical researchers to provide its series of reports on transferable skills.

In October, 2006, ACQYR launched Stress Busters, a stress management program. The

program retails for $197 US.

“Canadian companies need to provide employees with stress-management training and

tools. The cost of work lost to stress is worth $12 billion annually,” stated Ronnie Nijmeh,

president of ACQYR, a Toronto-based company specializing in stress management.

Nijmeh is also the author of the Stress Busters toolkit.

Learn more at www.acqyr.com.

Contact ACQYR

President: Ronnie Nijmeh

1.877.438.3048

364 Old Kingston Road, Box 97578

Toronto, ON M1C4Z1

[email protected]

http://www.acqyr.com


















Documents

Stress How Are We Coping December 2006