Hardiness, appraisal and coping; a qualitative study of high and low Hardy managers

challenge, control and commitment. Hardiness is often referred to in the literature as a stress-resilience factor. Resilience is thought to result from superior coping and a more positive appraisal of potential stressors. Yet, despite the importance of the coping pathway within the stress model, virtually no empirical studies have directly examined how Hardy managers and professionals cope with stress. This paper addresses this gap. Low and high Hardys were identified using Kobasa’s Personal Views Survey. Indepth interviews were conducted with two samples of managers with high or low Hardiness scores. The analysis supports the proposition that high levels of Hardiness are associated with different coping strategies and appraisals of stress from low levels of Hardiness. The findings challenge some current concepts of what constitute effective coping strategies. The experience of the workplace in terms of perceived stress is different for low and high Hardys and this both supports existing literature on stress appraisal and provides a perspective on perceptions of stress in the workplace that could enhance our understanding of resilience and form the basis of further research on developing Hardy characteristics and intervention strategies for stress management.