Mental health, resilience and emotional regulation in sales representatives in the Irish tech industry

Authors

Ward, Cathryn

Issue Date

2020

Degree

Higher Diploma in Arts in Psychology

Publisher

Dublin Business School

Rights

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Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate mental health, resilience and emotional regulation in sales representatives of the tech industry in Ireland. Participants consisted of 71 (n=71) females (n=30) and males (n=41). A questionnaire was sent to participants using web based mediums. Participant’s mental health was investigated using the DASS21(Lovibond & Lovibond,1995). Resilience was measured using the BRS (Smith, 2008) and emotional regulation was investigated using the ERQ (Gross & John, 2003). The data sourced was analysed using Independent t-tests, Mann- Whitney U together with Spearman and Pearson’s correlations. Overall, the study found that participants had normal levels of stress, anxiety and depression. A significant difference did exist in anxiety levels between females and males together with a relationship found between stress levels and sales targets perceived to be difficult. The participants were found to have normal resilience, with resilience scores having a negative correlation with depression and anxiety. In relation to emotional regulation strategies, the use of cognitive reappraisal was more frequent than emotional suppression with emotional suppression found to be positively correlated to stress and depression. It is hoped that the results of this research can be used to show the importance of training to promote good mental health in sales organisations.

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