Coping in context

Demands are an inevitable part of organizational life, and most employees can manage a certain level of pressure for a certain amount of time. In this session, Anita explores the different strategies employees use to handle everyday stressors, highlighting which types of demands are easier to manage and why. Crucially, we will discuss how features of the organizational environment, including work design and employees’ roles, can either support effective coping or undermine it. Last, by looking at the long-term effects of sustained stressor exposure, we discuss when coping stops working and why. This may provide insights into practical levers organizations can use to protect employee well-being and health.

Anita Keller

Anita Keller is an Associate Professor at the Organizational Psychology department at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. She received her PhD from the University of Bern, Switzerland, and did her postdoc at Michigan State University, United States. In her studies, she explores three lines of research rooted in occupational health and career psychology: (1) how individuals attain and flourish in high-quality jobs, (2) the dynamic interplay between employees’ working conditions and well-being over time, and (3) the role of dynamic self-regulation. Her work has been published in a number of top-tier outlets and she currently serves as an Associate Editor for Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.