It’s hard to find a job that doesn’t involve at least some degree of stress. Even the people who dress up as cartoon characters at Disneyland have to deal with hot weather and the clamouring attention of children with potentially sticky, ice creamy fingers.
How well you cope with a stressful situation depends a great deal on your perception of it—a perception pieced together from all of your past experiences of dealing with life’s hardships.
Simply put, if you view a situation at work as extremely stressful to the point where you can barely cope, chances are you will feel hopeless, helpless, and at a loss as to how to get through it (if you even manage to get through it at all). People who are not equipped with healthy coping skills tend to default to unhealthy coping strategies, like denial, isolating themselves, blaming (or taking out) their problems on others, or finding comfort/distraction in detrimental habits (e.g., overeating, addictions, etc.).
How does this relate to turnover? It means that an inability to cope with stress places an employee in a seemingly impossible situation with only one way out: Quitting. It’s as simple as that… stress causes the “fight or flight” reaction. If you cannot use effective methods to “fight” the situation, your survival instinct kicks in and brings you to the realization that the only way out of the situation is to flee. This also means that people who don’t have strong coping skills may actually be setting themselves up for turnover.
Here is what data from our Turnover Probability Test reveals:
- 23% of people with poor coping skills have quit more than one job (compared to 7% of those with excellent coping skills).
- 25% go into a new job viewing their manager in a negative light (compared to 10% of those with excellent coping skills).
- 41% cannot function under the pressure of a tight deadline (compared to 13% of people with excellent coping skills).
- 52% are short-tempered (compared to 10% of people with excellent coping skills).
- 64% get discouraged easily (compared to 12% of people with excellent coping skills).
- 70% have difficulty adapting to change (compared to 30% of those with excellent coping skills).
- 84% struggle to bounce back from failure (compared to 21% of people with excellent coping skills).
- 86% have difficulty unwinding at the end of a tough work day (compared to 33% of people with excellent coping skills.
Reasons for Quitting
Our study on turnover also reveals that the quality of an employee’s coping skills dictates why they would choose to quit a job. For example:
The top three reasons why people with healthy coping skills have quit a job are as follows:
- They moved on to what they felt was a better job opportunity.
- They felt they were being treated unfairly by management.
- They didn’t see any potential for growth or advancement in the company.
The op three reasons why people with unhealthy coping skills have quit a job are as follows:
- They were frustrated with office politics (e.g., gossip, favoritism, nepotism, backstabbing, etc.).
- They felt the work environment was toxic.
- They also wanted to move on to a better opportunity.
This isn’t to say that a good employee is someone who will cope with harassment, a micromanaging leader, or other stress-inducing problems with a smile on their faces. Even employees with good coping skills know that sometimes, the best way to deal with a stressful situation is to get out of it.
However, what our research does indicate is that strong coping skills are likely to act as a buffer against work stressors that are common to nearly all jobs. Employees who can cope with stress are better able to adjust to challenging work situations, and are less likely to see quitting as their only option.
Contact us if you’re interested in using the Turnover Probability Test or other assessments.