The study investigated perceived occupational stress in a sample of 582 academic staff members working in institutions of higher education in the UK. Data was collected using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach and Jackson 1986), The Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman and Oldham 1974) and the Faculty Stress Index (Gmelch et al. 1986). The results indicate that women academics perceive the structure and content of their jobs similarly to men. However, women generally experience higher overall levels of stress in their jobs and results indicate that they may cope better with the demands placed upon them than their male counterparts. There is some evidence of the presence of a 'glass ceiling' in the institutions studied, with women holding more junior positions, and remaining in them longer, than men. A difference in effect size was found between those women who do achieve senior positions and men in similar posts. Higher grades predict greater job strain for women but not for men. The results from this study suggest fruitful avenues for future research.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore how organisations can develop leaders who have the competences necessary to ensure the sustainability of the company. It considers how the understanding and practice of responsible leadership can be enhanced by defining the competencies for integrating social and environmental considerations into business decision-making processes.Design/methodology/approach -The research comprised two phases. An initial questionnaire surveyed a sample of managers operating in the public and private sectors in Europe (n ¼ 108). A second stage of the research used in-depth interviews with 11 leading European-based multinational companies.Findings -Results indicate that, whilst the qualities and skills of responsible leadership can be identified, a further mediating concept deemed to be ''reflexive abilitites'' is posited as required to explain their translation into individual managerial behaviours. The paper describes the nature of these reflexive abilities.Research limitations/implications -A key limitation of the research is the small sample size, both for the survey and for the interviews. Further research is needed to develop a clearer understanding of the nature and functioning of the ''reflexive abilities'' and to establish the robustness of these concepts.Practical implications -The results of the research support the current awareness amongst management educators that the development of successful business leadership requires more than training in ''hard'' business functions. Although the importance of experientially learned ''soft skills'' has been acknowledged, the paper suggests that the development of responsible leadership needs a third dimension to be incorporated into management education.Originality/value -The paper suggests that ''reflexive abilities'' should be developed as core competencies in management development. For the development of responsible leadership it is necessary to foster the intellectual capacities to reflect upon, synthesise and integrate local and global business information in a way that leads to a new interpretation of both factual and emotional data. These abilities may enable leaders to develop new ways of thinking and new business models which will ensure the sustainability of their businesses. The paper explores the implications for those responsible for designing and delivering management development programmes.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This paper aims to provide an introduction to the special issue on the theme of sustainability and the need for change. Design/methodology/approach -The paper gives an overview of sustainability and its managerial and policy dilemmas for organizations. It also outlines the topics covered in the papers in the special issue. Findings -The question that the papers seek to answer is: how can organisations deal with the sustainability challenge? The papers cover the key sustainability dilemmas: how to balance short term priorities with long term vision, organisational change with stability, strategic goals with day to day implementation, domestic with international responsibilities; how to manage the corporate brand, image and reputation; how to influence policies nationally and internationally, and foster relations, all in the realm of effecting the change in attitude and behaviour that sustainability demands. Originality/value -The paper introduces an eclectic collection of papers that are intended to inform, challenge and stimulate continuing debate.

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Research has indicated that employees who remain within an organization after significant downsizing or delayering will experience adverse effects as profoundly as those who have left. This phenomenon has been labelled the``survivor syndrome''. This article first of all examines data from an employee opinion survey in a large UK financial institution following sequential and significant restructuring. The empirical findings contradict some propositions suggested in former studies in that evidence of``survivor syndrome'' was not apparent. Second, the article explores possible reasons for the non-existence of the syndrome. The findings are discussed in the light of the process of the redundancy programme.