Coping with difficult situations by tourism workers (foreign excursion guides)

Objectives: The aim of the study was to identify the preferred means of coping with stress among the workers of tourism industry, specifically, foreign excursion guides. The research problem was formulated in the form of the following question: What ways of dealing with stressful situations are preferred by the workers of tourism industry – foreign excursion guides? Material and methods: The subject of the study was a group of 31 practicing guides. The chosen research method was a diagnostic poll. The adopted research tool was the Ways of Coping Questionnaire developed by S. Folkman and R. Lazarus. Results: Results were divided regarding sex and place of residence. Average results of men are slightly higher for the following strategies: “Desires” (M=7,33; W=6,50), “Passive attitude” (M=7,66; W=6,25), “Positive attitude” (M=5,40; W=4,00), “Blaming oneself” (M=4,29; W=4,00) and “Retiring into oneself” (M=3,96; W=2,75). Women, in turn, handle better such strategies as “Solving problems” (W=18,50; M=16,96), “Seeking social support” (W=11,25; M=9,40) and “Reduction of tension” (W=4,50; M=3,14). In all the cases, however, no significant differences can be noticed. Conclusions: The subjects of the study do not seem to prefer any of the eight analyzed ways of coping with problematic situations, which is confirmed by the average results obtained for all the strategies. More specifically, however, it can be noticed that men tend to employ the strategy of rational approach to problems more than women. The analyses also show that the variables such as sex and place of living do not significantly influence the subjects’ preferences with respect to the ways of coping with difficult situations.