Executive Stress Test Executives and managers are susceptible to stress in a unique way. They not only deal with subordinates, they may also have to deal with top management.
Executives sometimes suffer from stress simply because of their management style.
Herbert Levison, a researcher who has studied the effects of management personality and style on work-related stress, came up with 13 questions which, when answered honestly, should indicate whether or not someone has an abusive or abrasive management style and, as a result, either causes stress or suffers from it. Executives who answer yes to five or more of these questions need to seriously reevaluate their attitudes toward workers. If left unchecked, abrasive and abusive management styles can create very intense stress and anxiety and affect the functioning and productivity of entire departments and organizations. In male executives, stress is mainly manifested as physical problems whereas in females it is manifested as emotional disorders and mental illness. For information about stress and stress management publications, click here .