OCCUPATIONAL STRESS The occupational stress is known to the situations which characteristics of the events related to the workplace lead to individuals' ill health and even welfare. These environmental job situations are often consideredas stressors and the employees' reactions have been labeled strains. One of the basic issues in the occupational stress domain concerns coping ways in which the individual can attempt to deal with the job stressors to ward off the aversive strains. The reseach upon occupational stress is on growing phase while (Beehr, 1987), knowledge about coping with stressful work has lagged by comparison. Indeed we need a empirical and theoretical literature for coping of stress, Even in that more extensive literature, there is no clear agreement regarding the types of activities that constitute coping (Dewe and Guest, 1990, Kessler, Price and Wortman, 1985; Kuhlmann, 1990). In astudy Kessler et al., stated that in the life stress research literature there have only been a handful of studies of coping and stress conducted with 'normal' populations (as opposed to clinical populations). Regarding coping with general life stress, 'despite the enthusiasm and interest that have been shown for the construct of coping, we have just barely begun to scratch the surface' (Kessler et al., 1985, p. 559). Regarding coping with occupationalstress, we know even less at present, due to minimal rigorous research (Havlovic and Keenan, 1991; Latack and Havlovic, 1992). Studies utilizing work stress variables and family variables, both reported by the employee, have becon somewhat common (e.g. Burke, 1988; Burke, Shearer and Deszca, 1984). The many occupational stress studies in the past have not usually focused upon the on-duty and off-duty stress. Payne, Jick and Burke (1982) and Brief and Atieh (1987), for example, have alluded specifically to a needed research focus on the,