Leadership Styles and Occupational Stress Among College Athletic Directors: The Moderating Effect of Program Goals

Abstract

The interaction between an individual's abilities and the perceived demands of the workplace appears to make a unique contribution to job-related stress above and beyond that of dispositional or situational factors alone (R. S. Lazarus, 1990). In the present study, the author evaluated this contention among 245 male intercollegiate athletic directors by assessing the combined influence of leadership style and program goals on occupational stress. Regression analyses revealed the presence of both significant main effects and interaction effects of leadership style and program goals in the prediction of emotional exhaustion, daily job stress, and personal accomplishment. Findings are discussed in terms of person–environment fit theory (J. R. P. French, R. D. Caplan, & R. V. Harrison, 1982) and the notion of perceived control within the occupational setting.

Key Words:

• athletic directors
• interaction effects
• leadership style
• occupational stress