Influence of Leader-Induced Stress and Emotional Labour on Mental Health: What Happens When Employees Are Also Dogmatic

This study, which was a survey of 253 post-merger organizations’ employees, focused on two objectives. First was the examination of the extent to which the challenges experienced by employees, while relating to their new immediate superiors, influenced their mental health. Second was the investigation of the extent to which pressure for hiding emotions and dogmatic behaviour, independently, interacted with leader-induced stress to either worsen or lessen its presumed, unpleasant influence on mental health. Data was obtained via responses generated with a survey comprising the Dogma (DOG) Scale, the Leadership-Induced Stress Scale (LISI), and the Demands for Hiding Emotions and the Mental Health Subscales of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ). Moderated Regression Analysis showed that mental health was significantly influenced by Perceived Leader-Induced Stress [β =-0.367, t=-5.97, P<0.01]; pressure to hide emotions [β =-0.167, t=-2.91, P<0.01]; and dogmatic behaviour [β = 0.134, t=2.271, P<0.05]. Mental health was also significantly influenced by the extent and manner leader-induced stress interacted with dogmatic behaviour [β = 0.19, t= -2.92, P<0.01]. However, pressure to hide emotions did not interact with leader-induced stress to influence mental health [β = 0.031, t=0.52, P>0.05]. While the main influences of both leader-induced stress and pressure to hide emotions were unpleasant on mental health, as increases in both led to decreased mental health, that of dogmatic behaviour was different as employees who were more dogmatic reported better mental health than their counterparts who were less. Going by the leader-induced stress—dogmatic behaviour interaction, dogmatic behaviour appeared to be able to mitigate the unpleasant influence of leader-induced stress on mental health. This stimulated a keener attention—in the discussions—on the extent to which being dogmatic could be adaptive for the psychological wellbeing of employees who, sometimes, have to grapple with the traumatizing effect of mergers and acquisitions.
Key words: Mental Health, Leadership, Emotion Hiding, Dogmatism