MANAGEMENT TEAM STRESSORS AND THEIR IMPACT ON ADMINISTRATORS' HEALTH
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009893 |
| Date | 01 February 1984 |
| Published date | 01 February 1984 |
| Pages | 192-205 |
| Author | WATER H. GMELCH,BOYD SWENT |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XXII, NUMBER 2 SUMMER, 1984
MANAGEMENT TEAM STRESSORS AND THEIR IMPACT
ON ADMINISTRATORS' HEALTH
WATER H. GMELCH AND BOYD SWENT
This research was exploratory in nature, conducted in the context of a field study. A
questionnaire was developed through a series of iterations, one important compo-
nent of which was the use of stress logs by a sample of administrators. The resultant
instrument was completed by 1156 respondents from the Confederation of Oregon
School Administrators (elementary and secondary principals, superintendents,
assistant superintendents and central office staff). Twelve stressors are identified and
discussed. Although there are differences in responses, all members of the manage-
ment team are shown to share many common stressors, e.g. complying with rules,
attending meetings, completing reports on time.
Research conducted during recent years has produced a growing body
of evidence that occupational stress affects both the health and perfor-
mance of managers.1 The public even acknowledges that school leaders
are involved in one of the most stressful jobs in society.2
Within the educational management ranks, superintendents are
popularly identified as those individuals most susceptible to stress. This ex-
clusive assumption, however, remains open for question. Certainly other
levels of management are exposed to comparable pressures. Some
evidence exists, for instance, that coronary heart disease is more common
among middle managers than executives.
Whether the superintendent or the principal in the middle suffers the
most is not the point of debate here, rather the sources of excessive ad-
ministrative stress. Researchers and writers have amassed an overwhelm-
ing amount of information about stress: over 100,000 articles and books
written about stress, 1,000 research projects conducted, and every year
6,000 more publications become catalogued under the heading of stress.
The word stress is one with which the layman and professional alike is
familiar. For all the attention stress receives, both in publications and per-
sonal experiences, at times our awareness of what stresses us remains un-
discovered. Researchers know more about "the motives, habits, and most
intimate arcania of the primitive peoples of New Guinea or elsewhere than
(they) do of the denizens of the executive suites".3 We know stress exists
but are not insightful or patient enough to identify its sources.
WALTER H. GMELCH is Associate Professor, Department of Education, Washington State
University, Pullman, Washington 99164-2110. BOYD SWENT is Assistant Superintendent,
Washington County ESD.
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