Abstract

DIAZ SAENZ, Héctor René; GOMEZ HOLGUIN, Ramón  and  GARZA GARCIA, Jorge de la. The relationship between transformational leadership behaviors, communication contents and stress factors at work. Investig. adm. [online]. 2008, vol.37, n.102, pp.7-21. ISSN 2448-7678.

Stress is a reaction to situations perceived as challenging or some times threatening to the well being of people. When feeling stressed in the workplace, individuals expect to reduce stress levels through their boss's support, coworkers, friends or family. The messages interchanged through social support are relevant to being studied. Particularly, in the workplace, direct superior behavior play a preponderant role in managing stress. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship existent between transformational leadership behaviors of direct boss's, communication content, and stress factors.

To answer the research questions perceptions of transformational leadership behaviors, communication content that individuals under stress share with those from whom they seek social support, and some specific factors that lead to stress where measured. The theoretical framework is based on previous research focused on transformational leadership, stress and communication content studies. Results from 167 questionnaires applied to secretaries of an educational mexican organization, are presented. The analysis of data included correlations and regressions to know the relationships among variables. The results suggest that when certain transformational behaviors are exhibited by leaders, stress factors tend to reduce among secretaries and certain contents of communication increase. The last part of this study includes detailed interpretation of the results, conclusions and some future research suggestions.

Keywords : Transformational leadership; communication; stress; work.