Chefs are less stressed than their employees

Government and military leaders show less stress hormones than ordinary employees

09/25/2012

„Officers have a lot more stress“, is the common opinion of many. But a study by the US Harvard University came to a completely different conclusion. A high number of bosses are obviously less stressed than their employees. Using saliva samples, the researchers analyzed in a study hormone secretions.

Is the pressure and thus the stress in the workplace passed on by the executives to the employees? Surprisingly, bosses are less stressed than ordinary employees, as study leader Jennifer Lerner and team from Harvard University found in a small study.

Saliva samples were taken from a total of 148 men and women in senior positions in government agencies and the US military. As a comparison group, another 65 participants served both gender and different professions, who had no or only a small leadership position. In the laboratory, the scientists evaluated the samples and then measured the levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Less stress hormones in management tasks
The result showed that the concentration of the hormone in the executives was significantly lower than in the comparison subjects. Using a standardized questionnaire, the participants were given additional symptoms such as „inner unrest“, "Nervousness", "anxiety" and "uncertainty" questioned. Again, it was shown that bosses suffered less from described stress than the group of ordinary employees.

To secure the results, the leaders were grouped by level of control. Previously, they had to state how much responsibility and authority their employees have. It showed that the number of stress hormones decreased significantly, the more the subjects exercised control.

Power reduces mental workload
Previous work has shown that the sense of power over situations lowers stress levels in people“, explained the psychologist Lerner. „Based on our results, this can also be assumed for hierarchies in working life.“ The higher the position in the company, the more pronounced the control over people and working environment, the lower the task combined with stress, write the authors in the magazine „Proceedings“ the US Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Clear relationship between stress and leadership
„Overall, these results show a clear relationship between leadership and stress“, so learner. „The higher the management level, the less stress“. However, the results can not be transferred to the free economy, as there are other competent such „economic success of the company“ could contribute to a higher level of stress on the boardroom. Moreover, the results of the study do not allow us to determine whether the low level of cortisol among managers is actually to be found in the context of workload in the job, or rather reflects the personal disposition a person needs to perform leadership. It did not include the question of whether executives have better access to incident reduction due to their higher salary. While increased consumption is unlikely to compensate, people in leadership positions typically have more financial resources to take advantage of special offerings such as yoga or sports seminars.

Monkey study supports observations
However, the study supports previous research with monkeys. It turned out that the rank in the monkey group produces a lower stress hormone level. „But that only applies if the monkey male faces a low level of competition within the group hierarchy“, so the scientists. This can also be transferred to humans, since most of the participants with management responsibilities held a secure government job. Therefore, the researchers next want to investigate how a lower stability and more competitive pressure in the company on humans. (Sb)

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Image: Gerd Altmann, Pixelio.de