Research has yielded considerable details of the features
which tend to cause stress, and it may be useful to
examine the leadership role in terms of the extent to
which it is likely to contain these stressors.
Cooper and Marshall (1978) have highlighted a number of
job stressors in the leadership role. First, there are factors
intrinsic to the leadership role, characteristics such as
long working hours, travel, attending numerous
meetings, work overload and so on. In studies of heart
disease and working hours, it has been found that
individuals working consistently long hours (i.e. over 48
hours every week) are much more vulnerable to coronary
artery disease (Warshaw, 1979). Introducing and
managing new technology is also a potential stressor for people in leadership roles. In an international study of
executive stress, Cooper (1984) found that Japanese
executives suffered from pressure to “keep up with new
technology”, while managers in developing countries (like
Egypt) could not cope with the increasing emphasis on
new technology, with untrained staff and inappropriate
infrastructure.
Second, leaders also suffer from conflicts and ambiguities
associated with their managerial role. Role ambiguity
arises when an individual does not have a clear picture of
his/her objectives, co-workers’ expectations and with the
scope and responsibilities of his/her job. On the other
hand, role conflict can occur when a manager is torn by
conflicting job demands or by doing things he or she does
not really want to do, or things which the individual does
not believe are part of the job. These kinds of conflict or
ambiguous situations can create low levels of job
satisfaction and higher anxiety levels among those in
leadership roles and, indeed, lead to elevated blood
pressure and cardiovascular ill health (Ivancevich and
Matteson, 1980).