Religiosity and work stress coping behavior of Muslim employees Belal Barhem Abu Dhabi University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Hassan Younies United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, and Rusnah Muhamad University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between religiosity and the feeling of work stress, as represented by Muslim attitudes towards the religiosity scale. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 212 employees from the United Arab Emirates participated in the study. Frequencies, regression, ANOVA, and ratios were applied in the paper. Findings – The major results revealed that self-evaluation of faith level is not related significantly to any dependent variable. The majority of the respondents reported a low level of faith. Muslim females were identified to experience more work stress than males. Additional studies concerned with other religions can provide more comprehensive findings related to the relationship between religion and work stress. Originality/value – Multinational corporation and other business organizations can derive great benefit from the results of this paper with regard to business in Islamic countries. Keywords Islam, Stress, United Arab Emirates, Individual behaviour Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Today’s working conditions are characterized by employees changing jobs frequently, heavy workloads, higher job expectations, less job security, increased skepticism and the continual downsizing efforts of organizations, all of which are serving to cause increased stress in the work place. When workers fail to cope with these stressful conditions, occupational stress will become a health risk. Employers, trade unions, and workplace health and safety representatives are seeking solutions for guidance both on the nature and causes of the problem and on the legal requirements regarding stress prevention and control. The study of stress may well involve a multidisciplinary field. This multidimensionality of stress is evidenced by the different forms it takes and the various studies in different fields of knowledge such as: clinical and applied psychology, anthropology, sociology, psychosomatic medicine, industrial relations, and epidemiological aspects (Hogan and Hogan, 1982). The word “stress,” essentially means four fundamentally different things: an environmental condition, an appraisal of an environment situation, a response to that condition, a relationship between the environmental demands, and the person’s capacity to meet the demands (Kahn and Cooper, 1993). Mclean (1979) defines stress as the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made on it. Matteson and Ivancivich (1987) defined stress The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1753-7983.htm Religiosity and work stress 123 Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues Vol. 2 No. 2, 2009 pp. 123-137 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1753-7983 DOI 10.1108/17537980910960690