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Summary: Research showed less stress for those in high-level leader roles.
Key Take Aways:
- A significant factor contributing to stress levels is the sense of control people have in their lives.
- Chronic stress is a health hazard.
- Elevated cortisol is associated with Cushing's Syndrome.
A joint study conducted by researchers at Harvard and Stanford found a result that may seem counter-intuitive. Leaders with the highest levels of responsibility in their study had lower stress levels. (The prevailing assumption might be they would have higher levels.) Business leaders, military officers, government officials and non-profit administrators in countries all over the world were included in the study. The researchers found leaders had lower stress levels than non-leaders and that the higher-ranking leader had lower levels than lower-ranking leaders. For the study stress was defined as cortisol levels, because cortisol is the main stress hormone.
"We aren’t talking about fleeting moods. Cortisol is an important biological variable related to morbidity and mortality. Chronically elevated cortisol levels impair immune functioning and, as a result, contribute to major diseases and shorter life span," said lead researcher Jennifer Lerner. (Source: Harvard Kennedy School)
If cortisol remains high for long periods, it can cause a disease called Cushing's Syndrome. Signs of this disease can be high blood pressure, high blood sugar, bone weakening, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and insomnia. If untreated it can lead to heart disease. Stress may be something people feel as uncomfortable, but if it is constant it can be a real health hazard. (Cortisol levels can be tested.)
An insight that came out of the study may explain why people in the higher leadership roles had lower cortisol levels. The sense of control in their lives is greater, resulting in less stress and they are better able to function in those roles. People who are better at dealing with stress may also be the ones who achieve higher leadership positions with greater responsibility.
Coincidentally, in his book titled Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh references perceived control as one of the four things that constitute happiness. The others mentioned are perceived control, connectedness and vision/meaning. His example of perceived control in the book is related to the Zappos call center where a skill set system was implemented so employees could build their skills and as they did so, earn more money.
Image Credit: Quintin3265, Wiki Commons
