STRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES AMONG MARKET TRADERS
ABSTRACT
This study was carried out on the examination of stress and coping strategies among market traders using Dutse market, FCT, Abuja as a case study. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprise of market traders in Dutse market, Abuja. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 220 respondents and 210 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using mean scores. The result of the findings reveals that the causes of stress among market traders include; long working hours without break, pressure from customers, scarcity of suppliers, incompetency of subordinate, theft, and unfavorable economic order. The study also revealed that stress has numerable effect on market traders, among which are; mental breakdown, frequent headaches, increases depression, low productivity, disorganization, and excessive worry. Therefore, it is recommended that market traders should personally seek for strategies that works best for them in managing work place stress. And the service of a therapist should be employed in severe stress issues. Lastly, market traders should consider the following strategies for coping with stress; prioritizing work, divert thinking (do something fun), proactiveness, disregarding, networking, and regular exercise.