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Managerial Role Conflict Scale3

Managerial Role Conflict Scale Test

Understand how role conflict affects your leadership stress in about 8 minutes. With 39 items, it pinpoints the biggest pressure points to guide coaching and reduce burnout.

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Questions: 398 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

33,023 views

2,230 completions

1,811 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

13/30

Scale C (SC)

Scale C measures the degree to which a manager experiences conflict between incompatible expectations tied to their different roles.

Low role conflict

Moderate role conflict

High role conflict

6 – 13: Low role conflict | 14 – 22: Moderate role conflict | 23 – 30: High role conflict

A score of 13 falls in the Low role conflict range, suggesting relatively limited tension from needing to reconcile incompatible role demands.

example score

37/55

D (D)

Scale D measures the degree of internal conflict between a manager’s personal values and standards and the demands of their leadership role.

Low internal conflict

Moderate internal conflict

High internal conflict

11 – 25: Low internal conflict | 26 – 40: Moderate internal conflict | 41 – 55: High internal conflict

A score of 37 falls in the Moderate internal conflict range, suggesting noticeable tension between personal standards and role demands, especially around responsibility and maintaining control.

example score

51/55

Scale B (SB)

Assesses the degree to which external work conditions (e.g., resources, deadlines) create conflict with the role demands placed on a manager.

Low conflict

Moderate conflict

High conflict

11 – 25: Low conflict | 26 – 40: Moderate conflict | 41 – 55: High conflict

A score of 51 indicates high role conflict, suggesting that external constraints are strongly interfering with your ability to meet expected managerial role norms.

example score

30/55

Scale A (SA)

Scale A measures how strongly a manager experiences conflicting expectations from different stakeholder groups.

Low

Moderate

High

11 – 25: Low | 26 – 40: Moderate | 41 – 55: High

A score of 30 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but manageable level of pressure from differing expectations across groups.

example score

114/195

Role Conflict Severity (RCS)

Measures the degree of tension a manager experiences from conflicting and overlapping role expectations and demands.

Low

Moderate

High

39 – 85: Low | 86 – 133: Moderate | 134 – 195: High

A score of 114 indicates a moderate level of role conflict, suggesting noticeable but generally manageable tension from competing role demands.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Middle managers under pressure

41%OF USERS

Department and team leads take it to pinpoint where conflicting demands from executives, peers, and staff are creating the most stress.

Newly promoted leaders

34%OF USERS

First-time managers use it to understand early-role tension and clarify expectations while they adjust to supervising others.

HR and leadership coaches

25%OF USERS

People supporting managers take it with participants to identify role-conflict hotspots and plan targeted development or stress reduction.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

C (C)

Average

18.6

Normal range

15.3 — 22

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

D (D)

Average

36.9

Normal range

31.2 — 42.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

B (B)

Average

30.4

Normal range

22.5 — 38.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

A (A)

Average

37.8

Normal range

30.2 — 45.4

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Intensity of Role Conflict (IoRC)

Average

114.3

Normal range

93.3 — 135.2

min.

max.

195

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

You are presented with a list of statements describing situations that you, as a first-line manager, encounter in your day-to-day work. Please read each statement carefully and indicate the extent to which it elicits negative attitudes, emotional tension, and conflict-related feelings. Response options are as follows: “to a very high degree,” “to a high degree,” “to a moderate degree” (sometimes elicit emotionally tense and conflict-related feelings, sometimes do not), “to a low degree,” “to a very low degree” (I am completely indifferent to these situations). If you are unsure how to respond, please select the option that best reflects what you experience more often in that situation.

- To a very high degree
- To a high degree
- To a moderate degree
- To a low degree
- To a very low degree
- To a very high degree
- To a high degree
- To a moderate degree
- To a low degree
- To a very low degree
- To a very high degree
- To a high degree
- To a moderate degree
- To a low degree
- To a very low degree

These are 3 of the 39 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Role Conflict Scale in Managerial Activity Test

Managerial Role Conflict Scale Test - Symptoms and Signs

management

role conflict

The Managerial Role Conflict Scale is a self-report measure used to assess perceived role conflict in managerial work settings. It is intended to characterize the extent to which managers experience incompatible or competing expectations associated with their role.

Developed by K. R. Rizzo, R. J. House, and S. I. Lirtzman, the instrument consists of 39 items and typically requires about 8 minutes to complete. Responses are used to summarize the degree of role-related tension and to identify areas in which job demands, organizational pressures, or internal standards may be experienced as inconsistent.

The Managerial Role Conflict Scale may be used in organizational assessment, coaching, and occupational stress evaluation to support case formulation and to guide targeted intervention planning.

Author: K. R. Rizzo, R. J. House, S. I. Lirtzman

Literature: Jehn, K. A. A multimethod examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly. 1995.