Abstract

MACHADO, Rita  and  LIMA, Maria Luísa. Unemployment threat: Stress and coping in different cultures of work organizations: The case of banking. Psicologia [online]. 1998, vol.12, n.1, pp.63-84. ISSN 0874-2049.  https://doi.org/10.17575/rpsicol.v12i1.573.

We intend to show that organizational culture can be seen as a moderator factor on people's perception of loosing their job and can also have an active role on people's choice of the best way to cope with that situation. Organizational culture could be conceptualized as an important factor when dealing with occupational stress prevention. Our study focus on two different levels. On one hand an individual perspective concerning the perception of threat of loosing one's job and the coping strategies people use to face that situation (stress, appraisal and coping model, Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). On the other hand an organizational level to what concerns the organizational culture of the different organizations (QuimTs model of organizational culture, 1983). This study was rim at Portuguese banking sector due a lot of changing it had been through, specially over the last ten years. Our sample was gathered within six different banks to come to a comparative approach of the individual and organizational variables involved. Results show that the threat of being fired is directly associated to the perception of the organizational culture as oriented toward goals, and inversely related to its perception as oriented towards support and innovation. The evaluation of resources to deal with the threat is directly related with a perception of organizational culture oriented towards support, innovation and goals. Contrarily to our hypothesis, no clear pattern of association between coping strategies and organizational culture was found.

Keywords : stress; coping; culturas organizacionais.

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