Relationship between leadership power bases and job stress of subordinates: example from boutique hotels

Purpose To examine the influence of leadership power bases on subordinates’ job stress at boutique hotels. Design/methodology/approach A total of 400 subjects (20 managers and 380 non‐managerial employees) participated in this study from 20 boutique hotels. Participants were told that the study was designed to collect information on the leadership power bases used by first line managers and on the job stress levels of employees in the hospitality workforce. The Rahim Leader Power Inventory and Spielberger and Vagg's Job Stress Survey were used to assess leadership power bases and job stress, respectively. Findings There are significant relations between leader power bases and subordinates’ job stress. The findings support the suggestion in the literature that positional power bases stimulate job stress in the hospitality industry. Research limitations/implications The study has several limitations that could be future research topics, such as hotels’ source of funding, demographic characteristics of the participants, etc. There is a question about the generalizability of these findings to other hospitality organizations such as four or five‐star hotels. Originality/value This paper explores an aspect of leadership in the hospitality industry that is often neglected. Organizations that actively consider leadership approaches and wish to nurture and develop their leaders and managers will need to be mindful of the leadership power bases.