The biggest Stress Drivers

1) Unclear expectations (role ambiguity → constant “alignment labor”)
When priorities and success criteria are fuzzy, team members spend more time translating, double-checking, and pre-aligning with their manager.

• A Gallup finding reported by AP: only 50% of U.S. employees strongly agreed they understood what was expected of them at work, down from 56% in January 2020. (AP citing Gallup)

Why this matters for managing up: when expectations aren’t clear, team members often have to pull clarity upward (more check-ins, more updates, more documentation), which adds stress and squeezes focus time.

2) The “bad manager tax” (team members compensate for missing people-management skills)
A common reason team members feel they “have to manage up” is that their manager is undertrained in basics like communication, delegation, coaching, and decision-making.

• SHRM (U.S. workers): 84% say poorly trained people managers create unnecessary work and stress. (SHRM)
• In the same SHRM findings: 57% say managers at their workplace could benefit from training; 50% say their own performance would improve if their direct supervisor got more people-management training. (SHRM)
• In a SHRM culture report, 36% said their manager doesn’t know how to lead a team. (SHRM)
• In a SHRM research report summary, 1 in 3 U.S. workers said their manager doesn’t know how to lead a team, and nearly 60% said people managers are the reason they leave their organizations. (SHRM report summary)
• Stress mechanism in plain terms: if a manager can’t reliably set direction, decide, delegate, or communicate, team members end up doing those tasks upward (and worrying about consequences).

3) Low psychological safety (managing up feels risky)
If it’s not safe to disagree, ask questions, or surface bad news early, managing up becomes emotionally effortful and anxiety-producing.

• APA Work in America (U.S. employed adults): workers reporting higher psychological safety were far less likely to say they felt tense or stressed during a typical workday (27%) than workers with lower psychological safety (61%). (APA)
• APA topline notes the Work in America survey was conducted in the U.S. among 2,027 employed adults. (APA topline)

This connects directly to managing up because psychological safety determines whether “managing up” is straightforward communication—or a constant exercise in self-censorship and careful phrasing.

4) Toxic culture and chronic strain (managing up becomes protection behavior)
In more toxic environments, managing up often shifts from “alignment” to “self-protection”: documenting everything, navigating politics, avoiding blame, and planning exits.

• SHRM (U.S. workers): 1 in 5 Americans left a job in the past five years due to bad culture; 49% had thought about leaving their current organization. (SHRM)
• SHRM: 26% said they dread going into work. (SHRM)
• SHRM estimates turnover due to workplace culture cost organizations up to $223 billion over five years. (SHRM)
• SHRM research summary: about two-thirds of working Americans reported having worked in a “toxic” workplace; 28% said workplace culture makes them irritable at home; and nearly half postponed important personal-life events due to work demands. (SHRM report summary)

When team members operate in this environment, managing up is rarely optional—it becomes a coping strategy with ongoing stress costs.

5) Baseline: work stress is already widespread in the U.S. (so “extra” upward labor hits harder)
Even before you add extra upward coordination, work-related stress is common.

• OSHA summarizes research that ~65% of U.S. workers surveyed (2019–2021) described work as a very or somewhat significant source of stress. (OSHA)

So when team members are also spending meaningful effort managing up (to get clarity, avoid rework, and stay safe), it compounds an already-high baseline.

U.S. Stats

• 50% of U.S. employees strongly agree they know what’s expected of them at work (down from 56% in Jan 2020). (AP News)
• 84% of U.S. workers: poorly trained managers create unnecessary work and stress. (SHRM)
• 57%: managers could benefit from training; 50%: my performance would improve if my supervisor got more people-management training. (SHRM)
• 27% vs 61%: stress gap for high vs low psychological safety (APA, U.S. employed adults). (APA)
• 1 in 5 Americans left a job due to bad culture (past five years); 26% dread going into work. (SHRM)
• ~65% of U.S. workers (2019–2021): work is a significant source of stress (OSHA). (OSHA)