[acb-hsp] Why You Are Far More Stressed Than Your Boss

[peter altschul]

Why You Are Way More Stressed Than Your Boss
  September 26, 2012
  "As you become a leader or climb up leadership ranks, is it 
true things get more intensely stressful for you?" That's the 
question a newly released study aimed to answer, said James 
Gross, one of the study's authors.
  The study, published Monday in the stProceedings of the 
National Academy of Sciencesst, found that the more leadership 
responsibility a person has, the lower the person's stress level 
is.
  Researchers from Stanford University and Harvard University 
recruited 148 managers in various fields, including government 
officials, military officers and business supervisors.  The 
researchers then asked them questions concerning their power and 
control in relation to others.  A saliva sample was then taken to 
measure their levels of cortisol, a hormonal indicator of stress.  
High levels of cortisol have been linked to heart disease, 
depression and several other diseases.
  Researchers then recruited 65 community members of similar 
ethnicity, sex and age, who do not manage others and repeated the 
steps.  They found that those in leadership positions were less 
stressed than workers who were not.  According to reports, the 
cortisol levels in those who were not bleadersb were, on average, 
27 percent higher than those who were.
  In a second study, researchers analyzed the differences among 
88 leaders by interviewing them about their leadership 
responsibilities.  They were also asked to measure their social 
control, by using a scale of one to five to agree to such 
statements like: "I can get people to listen to what I say." When 
a saliva sample was taken, the results were found to be 
consistent with the first study -- the more control people 
perceived they had, the less stressed they were.
  Samuel Barondes, director of UC San Francisco's Center for 
Neurobiology and Psychiatry, told the stLA Timesst that he 
noticed the study did not state whether or not leadership 
positions caused the low stress, or whether people who have lower 
levels of stress are prone to being leaders.  Barondes said he 
believes it is a combination of both.
  The study reminds us that when our livelihoods are dependent on 
the money we make from our jobs, then our livelihoods lie in the 
hands of the unstable market forces and our bosses, and that is 
extremely stressful.  Plus, those in leadership positions make 
more money than those who don't, which is another reason they 
have less stress.
  The study also exposes the myth that those with power deserve 
more respect and wealth because they tolerate more stress.  As 
ABC reported:
  [Gross] said one common perception of leaders is that they are 
paid more money to endure high stress levels and perhaps become 
ill more frequently, or even die sooner.
  So, if for some reason, you held an especially high reverence 
for the all mighty and powerful people who stmust deal with so 
much pressurest, it's time to think again.  It's more likely that 
your next-door neighbor is dealing with much more hardship.