Employees who complain come across as less competent, study suggests

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Stress-bragging — a term referring to oversharing about stress, like having too many assignments or an upcoming deadline — makes people less likeable in the workplace, a recent study finds.

The study also revealed that those who divulge too much about their stress are considered less competent by their coworkers. The study looked into the “concept of stress bragging” and explored the negative outcomes for those who did it.

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The study, by researchers at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, was published in March in the journal Personnel Psychology.

“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,” lead author of the study and professor of management Jessica Rodell said in a news release.

To gage how people felt about stress-bragging, researchers first created a fictional scenario: co-workers returning from a conference. They surveyed the reactions of 360 participants to certain statements that were made by people who attended the event.

One of the made-up co-workers referred to the conference as “just one more thing on my full plate.” This co-worker also said: “I was already stressed to the max” and “You have no idea the stress that I am under.” This was compared to a co-worker who mentioned stress, but didn’t brag about it, another who bragged about their personal accomplishments (rather than stress), and one who was neutral about the conference, Fortune Magazine reported.

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Participants were then asked to rate co-workers on likability, competence and the likelihood they would help them in the workplace. It turns out, the co-worker who stress-bragged was considered less likeable, less competent and was less likely to get help from colleagues.

In another attempt to pinpoint how people felt, the researchers turned to actual employees.

They asked 218 people how they were affected by co-workers who were stress-bragging. The researchers discovered that it led to an environment that normalized high-stress levels, according to Rodell.

Those who had co-workers who stress-bragged often “reported higher levels of personal stress and burnout,” the study found.

If one person is constantly talking about how stressed they are, it can make others spiral, said Rodell, calling it “contagious.”

The study found a difference between people who purposely went on and on about their stress versus those who mentioned it briefly or those who appeared to be stressed but didn’t say anything.

“We found that if I perceive you as stressed, I actually see you as more competent,” said Rodell.

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The study’s findings can be useful for managers, who often have to juggle various personalities in the workplace.

“[Stress-bragging] not only harms the bragging co-worker. If employees see somebody bragging about their stress, it will have a spillover effect that can have bigger implications for the workplace,” said Rodell.

For Canadians, the main causes of stress in the workplace are related to having a heavy workload and balancing life and work, a report by Statistics Canada in 2023 found.

“Just over 4.1 million people indicated that they experienced high or very high levels of work-related stress,” according to Statistics Canada, which represents 21 per cent of all employed people.

“If you genuinely feel stressed, it’s OK to find the right confidant to share with and talk about it. But be mindful that it is not a badge of honor [sic] to be bragged about—that will backfire,” said Rodell.

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