It’s not a contest: Bragging about your work stress may make you seem less likable and incompetent, says new study
We’ve all experienced stress in the workplace at one time or another, and sometimes commiserating with your colleagues can lift some of that weight off your shoulders. But when you consistently boast about your burdens, wearing stress as a badge of honor, your coworkers may view you as not only less likable but also less competent.
That’s according to new research from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. In addition, so-called “stress bragging” can induce higher levels of burnout among coworkers on the receiving end of the boasting, per the study published in March in the journal Personnel Psychology.
“This is a behavior we’ve all seen, and we all might be guilty of at some point,” lead author Jessica Rodell, PhD, said in a news release about her research. “When I was wondering about why people do this, I thought maybe we are talking about our stress because we want to prove we’re good enough. We found out that often backfires.”
Stress comes in many forms; this study in particular examines it as “the psychological state when one feels that their demands exceed their capacity.” And it’s a major problem. The American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work in America Survey showed 77% of respondents experienced work-related stress in the past month. For 57%, this led to a range of negative impacts, from emotional exhaustion (31%) to lower productivity (20%) to feelings of being ineffective (18%).
By 2025, the market for global workplace stress management is expected to reach $11.3 billion, according to a Research and Markets analysis. But because Rodell and her team felt previous research focused on individual ramifications of workplace stress, they sought to assess how it affects and is interpreted by others.
Employees less inclined to help stress-bragging coworkers
In the first part of the study, 360 participants were asked to evaluate an imaginary coworker who had just returned from a conference at which they were recognized as one of the previous year’s top performers. In this scenario, the hypothetical coworker was asked how the conference went. Study participants were randomly assigned one of four responses:
- Stress bragging. “Hey! It was good. Just one more thing on my full plate. And I was already stressed to the max…you have no idea the stress that I am under.”
- Control. “Hey! It was good. It was just another conference. But I’m also glad to be back. I heard next year’s might be in Philly…that would be cool.”
- Alternative control: Talking about stress. “Hey! It was good. It was just one more thing on my plate. And I think I’m just stressed. Things have been quite stressful as of late.”
- Alternative control: Self-promotion. “Hey! It was good. This award really reflects my accomplishments. I prepare materials thoroughly and often succeed in bringing work assignments to a good end.”
When comparing the stress bragging group to the control group, researchers found perceived stress bragging negatively impacts people’s perceptions of their coworker’s warmth and competence. Furthermore, participants were less likely to say they’d help the stress-bragging colleague at work.
“People are harming themselves by doing this thing they think is going to make them look better to their colleagues,” Rodell said.
Concerning the alternative controls, employees who bragged about stress were viewed as less likable than those who merely discussed it. The difference between their perceived competency wasn’t statistically significant. Employees who bragged about stress were also seen as less competent than the self-promoters. However, the stress braggarts were viewed as more likable than the self-promoters.
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Stress bragging has ‘spiraling contagious effect’ on coworkers
Another part of the study asked 218 people to assess their real-life experience with workplace stress braggarts and the impact it had on their own mental health. The researchers found a correlation between stress bragging and heightened stress and burnout on the receiving coworker. These results are hardly benign, Rodell said, and can have larger implications for the work environment.
“When somebody is constantly talking about and bragging about their stress, it makes it seem like it is a good thing to be stressed,” she said. “It just spills over onto the coworker next to them. They wind up feeling more stressed, which leads to higher burnout or withdrawal from their work. Think of it as this spiraling contagious effect from one person to the next.”
For some, stress bragging may be a well-intentioned way to blow off steam. “If you genuinely feel stressed, it’s OK to find the right confidant to share with and talk about it,” Rodell said.
Chronic stress, however, can lead to physical and psychological problems, from heart disease to insomnia. Building a sense of community at your workplace can help identify when a colleague is struggling, Jaclyn Wainwright, cofounder and CEO of Aircare Health, said last week during a panel discussion at Fortune’s Brainstorm Health conference in Dana Point, Calif.
“People who are suffering from mental health problems, diagnoses, disorders, they often have an inability to raise their hand and ask for help,” Wainwright said. “They almost require a group of people around them to understand that they are not OK, to recognize that they are struggling. And they certainly can’t have that happen in a vacuum.”
If you need immediate mental health support, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
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