Workload and Occupational Stress: The Moderating Role of Leadership Styles in Selected Banks in Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate leadership styles (transactional and transformational) among bank workers and to ascertain whether it moderated the relationship between workload and occupational stress. The study adopted the quantitative research approach. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used in select participating banks and respondents for the study. In all, four banks participated in the study and a total of 250 structured questionnaires administered, retrieved and analyzed. The findings of the study showed that workload had a significant positive relationship with occupational stress. Also leadership style did not have a significant positive relationship with perceived workload amongst bank workers. The study also found that transformational leadership style did not have a significant negative relationship with occupational stress contrary to the findings of Dartey-Baah and Ampofo (2015). However, transactional leadership was found to have a significant positive relationship with occupational stress. Also, transformational and transactional leadership styles were found to moderate the relationship between workload and occupational stress. However, transformational leadership styles were stronger moderators than transactional leadership styles. In situations where both transformational and transactional leadership styles were used within an organization they were both found to moderate the relationship between workload and occupational stress. The study recommended that managers of banks should focus attention on managing workload levels since it had the potential for causing occupational stress. It also recommended that in managing workload and occupational stress situations, transformational leadership was more appropriate since it was a stronger moderator than transactional leadership styles.