The level of burnout and cognitive stress in managers when teleworking: the impact of psychosocial safety climate and the mediating role of demand-control-support

Abstract

PurposeThe current research investigates the managers' perception of teleworking and attempts to understand how the psychosocial safety climate and psychosocial job characteristics affect their levels of burnout and cognitive stress levels while teleworking.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a survey, collecting data via questionnaires from five distinct organizations. N = 161 responses from managers were analyzed using the confirmatory factor analysis and regression analysis.FindingsThe findings show that managers who telework do not experience numerous psychosocial stressors. This means that they experience less burnout and cognitive stress. However, results also show that managers benefit from working in an environment with a high psychosocial safety climate.Practical implicationsOur study highlights the need to address managers' working conditions and well-being in telework, given their unique challenges, by fostering a supportive psychosocial climate and providing resources to mitigate stress and burnout.Originality/valuePrevious studies have thoroughly examined the dynamics of telework employees, including the challenges they face and the strategies their immediate supervisors employ to foster a positive remote work environment. Such research has illuminated various stressors that these individuals may confront while teleworking. Despite this, scant attention has been paid to the experiences of managers themselves when they operate from home. The concept of psychosocial safety climate becomes crucial when considering managers grappling with high job demands, low control, and insufficient support from their own superiors and peers. This gap has prompted the present study to explore the unique experiences of managers in a teleworking context, particularly concerning cognitive stress and burnout.