Exploring compassionate managerial leadership style in reducing employee stress level

during COVID-19 crisis: the case of Nigeria. The action in this title is exploring. What are they
exploring? Compassionate leadership styles. Why? To reduce stress levels during covid 19
pandemic.
Abstract
The purpose is to explore how compassionate leadership styles can reduce and work stress for
employees. The research method is a qualitative and interpretive methodology and
epistemology of social constructionism. The researchers have used non-numerical data and
want to better understand why the research group thinks a certain way. They’ve used semi-
structured telephone interviews for (target) employees in banking, manufacturing and frontline
healthcare organizations. This research found that if managers show compassion during covid
19, the employees will have a considerate reaction to negative factors related to covid-19 e.g.
losing their jobs, healthcare issues for high-risk groups.
Limitations is subcategorized in research implications and practical implications.
Research Implications: the study is only focused on exploring how managers can reduce stress
by showing their employees compassion during covid-19, a time of job and health insecurity.
The study used 30 samples in different Nigerian cities. Besides the qualitive method, they
possibly also used quantitative research to support their general findings.
Practical implications: this research is based on an extreme situation like covid-19. In order for
the businesses to survive, managers drastically used very strict and forceful measures to keep
the company going. This is not an approach the employees re used to, which creates negative
effects on their employees because they are also dealing with the covid-199 virus in and outside
of the workplace. These drastic measurements by managers can reduce employee productivity,
create high stress levels amongst employees and an increase in absenteeism. Organization
would benefit more if they implemented their new strategies with more compassion and
understanding towards their employees. Responsive to their employees’ stress levels and
caring about their health.
Employee stress is a well studies field, but not studied enough with the arrival of the extreme
covid-19 in developing countries.
Introduction
Covid-19 has destabilized the workplace which leads the managers to reinforce more effective
leadership styles in the workplace. Different perspectives of stress:

 Stress” generally describes any form of unpleasant emotional reaction that human
beings may develop in, or outside of, the work environment, arising when they feel that
they are facing a threat, of any nature, to which they have no adequate response,
leading to anxiety and frustration (Seaward, 2019).
 For Kihara and Mugambi (2018), stress may stem from different stressors, including
work overload, a work environment unconducive to health and productivity (Richardson,
2017), lack of engagement and inability to cope with work demands or to express
grievances due to fear of layoff (Seaward, 2019).
  the absence of effective engagement between management (managers) and the
workforce is a factor which is known to undermine employees’ ability to understand their
roles as well as cause them stress (Seaward, 2019)
Stress has been mainly researched globally in many different aspects. “In a situation involving
extreme natural environmental conditions, Field et al.’s (2012) studies explained how adaptation
options can be employed to manage stress in extreme water- and flood-related disasters
caused by climate change. Similarly, Zhang et al.’s (2017) study explored stress testing
frameworks for managing risk of landslides and extreme storms in China”.
Different studies on effective management of employee stress during covid-19 are:

 proactive measures, including early support, aftercare attention, providing workers with
clear messages and proactively monitoring and protecting their wellbeing and concerns
(Greenberg et al., 2020).
 strategies for a work-life balance through, for example, effective teamwork management
(Tannenbaumet al., 2021) and a model of moderated mediation (Dymecka et al., 2020)
as means of stress mitigation during COVID-19.
 leadership at the center of effective employee stress management during a pandemic
crisis, particularly in the contexts of authentic (Sultana et al., 2020), pain management
(Gallagher, 2020), responsible and inclusive leadership styles (Mehta et al., 2020),
among others.
The reason why stress amongst employees was higher than normal during covid-19, was “due
to a number of crisis-related stressors, including poor work conditions and fears due to health
risks and job loss. This requires compassion from those leading and managing the workforce
(Kihara and Mugambi, 2018)”.
A compassion-based leadership approach in an extreme situation is ideal because “This can
promote organizational strategic goals (survival, economic sustainability) while also addressing
employees’ concerns (wellbeing, fear, uncertainty), through leadership compassion,
benevolence, empathy, caring, engagement, reassurance and motivation (Peticca-Harris, 2019;
Zhang et al., 2020).”
Research question: What does employee stress entail during the COVID-19 crisis, and how
can an effective management-leadership mechanism help to reduce employee stress
levels during such an extreme situation?
Answering the “what” employee stress entails:
“Seaward (2019) defined stress as a chronic (and complex) emotional state created by
biochemical responses in the human body and psychological reactions to environmental
pressures, particularly where the individuals feel that they lack the resources to respond to
such forces. Understood to be a global phenomenon, stress (which occurs in all facets of
human life) mirrors a feeling of anxiety, tension and depression that permeates human
endeavors (Kihara and Mugambi, 2018). “
Essentially, labor (or work) is considered to be a critical aspect of human civilization; it can
therefore be assumed to be a major stress factor among employees (Yange et al., 2016).”
Stress triggers also differ per person. People have different stress levels.
Answering the “stress related to covid-19”:
At the time the study was written, 59 million people were infected and 1.3 million deaths were
noted as a result of the virus. This caused global panic and confusion. To limit the spread of the
virus, people had to isolate and a lot of institutes, schools and business were in lock-down,
which further created fear and anxiety.
“As businesses in particular have been affected by COVID-19, there has been a rise in the
stress level of employees, whose concerns include (among others) job insecurity, layoffs,
delayed payment and health risks (Hill, 2020).”
Answering the “how” management can reduce stress:
The study states that in developing countries, employees generally already have a certain level
of stress due to “poor leadership” in their country. In most developed countries they have coping
mechanisms for employee stress. They help the employees in identifying and managing
stressors and educating employees how to deal with their stress. Managers should also make
sure employees have the resources to do their work (skills, training etc.)
“Furthermore, ensuring that employees are engaged, informed and involved in the process of
designing their work pattern can be helpful in relieving work-related stress. Workplace stress
can also be effectively managed when employees are able to celebrate their own successes
and socialize with each other (Seaward, 2019).”
Answering the “how” management can reduce stress in covid-19:
Different situations (may) require different managerial styles.
“a managerial leadership approach that is compassionate to employees’ concerns and
wellbeing (Peticca-Harris, 2019), particularly in developing countries, which are largely plagued
by poor leadership (Uchenwamgbe, 2013; Oshagbemi, 2017).”
“Effective management and leadership that incorporates compassion is ever-crucial in
responding to employees’ concerns, particularly in extreme situations (Gilbert, 2009) such as
the COVID-19 pandemic (Rothan and Byrareddy, 2020), hence the proposition of a
compassionate managerial leadership in this study.”
“Thus, as managerial leadership combines the skills of a manager with the qualities of a leader,
this elicits discretionary behavior of followers, because it is the manager’s leadership
characteristics that make all the difference with regards to inspiring effective task
performance, organizational effectiveness and human satisfaction (Martin and Heineberg,
2017).”
Compassionate leader style:
According to Wasylyshyn and Masterpasqua (2018), compassion embodies a range of variables
that may include, but are not limited to, empathy, benevolence, care, understanding, support
and concern for others.
In extreme situations employees need compassionate leadership to help them to alleviate high
stress levels in the workplace.
Nigeria’s work environment is normally very stressful. In covid-19 those stress levels increased
even more.
Methodology & Findings
The researchers adopted qualitative-interpretive methodology and epistemology of social
constructionism, to gather raw data from people who have experienced stress in the workplace
levels during covid-19.
The sample has 30 respondents in different sectors (banking, manufacturing and healthcare).
The interviews were held through the telephone (and recorded) and not in person. Interview was
open-ended thus flexible.
The interviews were subscribed and analyzed using TAP (thematic analysis procedure).
“The dataset was based on the respondents’ thoughts about what employers can do in
response to the stressors that have been identified. The needs for reassurance,
compassion, understanding, sympathy and empathy, among others, were largely
suggested.” The dataset was eventually consolidated in key themes regarding the stress levels
of employees during covid-19.
Broadly, they expressed concerns regarding the tendency for their employers to capitalize on
the pandemic chaos to deny them “assurance for job security”, “expose them to potential
health risks” and subject them to “unfair work conditions”, all of which can increase their
stress levels.
Note: The respondents already had a decent amount of stress because of bad leadership, covid
19 enhanced that stress for workers in Nigeria.
“Beyond job security concerns, most respondents worried about their health and the risk of
getting infected. This is particularly due to the Nigeria work environment, which often does
not adequately carry out effective risk assessment or follow safety procedures (Otobo,
2016) such as the requirement of social distancing to prevent spread of the virus (WHO, 2020a,
b); on the contrary, workplaces are largely over-congested.”
“With management-leadership compassion (Peticca-Harris, 2019), these stressors could be
effectively addressed and minimized.”
“Nigerian employers are often referenced for their managerialist employment relations practices
and incessive dismissal of employees at will (Oruh et al., 2019), which makes it easier for
employees to be fired”.
Basically, the Nigeran workforce managers used covid 19 as a way to manipulate workers even
more than they usually would, which increased employee stress in Nigeria during covid 19.
“their organizations could apply a compassionate management-leadership model in
responding to their concerns (Wasylyshyn and Masterpasqua, 2018) regarding underpayment
and delayed payment, which would help to reduce their stress levels.”
Discussions and conclusion
This research advises compassionate managerial leadership approach for organizations in
extreme situations like covid-19. However, organizations can also use these extreme situations
for their own benefit to treat employees unfairly, which adds to their stress. The concept that
compassions plays a crucial role during extreme situations was tested and proved.
“In this direction, the study found that a compassionate managerial leadership mechanism
can drive a compassionate response to employees’ “fear of job (in)security”, “fear of
healthcare risks” and concerns surrounding “work overload, underpayment and delayed
payment”, which respondents considered to be some of the key workplace stressors for
employees in the current crisis.”
“while organizations pursue strategic ends to survive in a turbulent situation such as COVID-19,
they must also be compassionate in their management-leadership role by engaging with
employees, supporting and caring for them and showing them empathy, compassion and
understanding of their plight at this challenging time (Gallagher, 2020).” This act of compassion
will alleviate some degree of stress for the employees.
Recommendations, limitations and future research
Stress can lead to ill health, absenteeism, low productivity, and family disputes. In extreme
situations like COVID-19, stress levels are likely to intensify. A compassionate approach to
managerial leadership is recommended to effectively manage these challenges (job security,
health risks, and poor work conditions). Managers should be able to recognize employees' fears
and concerns, engaging with them, and showing understanding and empathy.
Management executives should implement (more) methods to have compassion for their
employees. “In this context, one program that fits the policy description is the Australian
“Champion of Change” initiative (Taylor et al., 2011), which could be adopted across the three
sectors to promote an inclusive work environment where the concerns of all employees are
effectively taken into account.”
This study is based on a few cities in Nigeria based on 3 sectors. Future studies could involve
more cities, sectors and using the quantitative research method as well.