When not hitting your sales target is ‘the end of the world’: examining the effects of Rational Emotive Behaviour Coaching (REBC) on the irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity of UK-based sales professionals

Turner, Martin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1975-5561, Costello, Natasha, Miller, Anthony ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2271-4728 and Wood, Andrew (2024) When not hitting your sales target is ‘the end of the world’: examining the effects of Rational Emotive Behaviour Coaching (REBC) on the irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity of UK-based sales professionals. Stress and Health, 40 (4). e3391. ISSN 1532-3005

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Abstract

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, workplace wellbeing is a key priority for employers as severe market and health conditions continue to bring inevitable problems that could be reduced with the application of psychological interventions to prevent mental and physical health issues, making this study a highly pertinent and valuable contribution to the field. This paper reports the effects of a rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) programme on the irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity of 56 office-based sales professionals located in the northwest region of the UK. A pre-test, post-test experimental design was utilised, and a mixed model ANOVA (repeated measure) was adopted to assess changes in mean differences concerning irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity at pre and post-test stages for the intervention group, in comparison to a control group. Results indicate that those in the REBT group reported significant reductions in irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity, whilst those in the control group reported no such changes. It is recommended that future research studies consider utilizing a mixed methods design and focus on a strategic collaboration of organisational and individual level interventions for improving the psychological wellbeing and performance of sales personnel.