Accounting studies document that performance evaluations may cause evaluatees to experience job-related stress and suggest there is a positive relationship between the frequency of such evaluations and stress. In this paper we aim to modify this suggestion. Since performance evaluations also involve a periodic discharge of accountability for evaluatees, we expect that low evaluation frequency may cause stress as well. Drawing on the neurobiological literature on allostatic load, we argue that the prolonged anticipatory threat of being held accountable adds to stress buildup over time. Such buildup is often not consciously experienced but shows in hormonal patterns that are associated with delayed job-related dysfunctions such as burnout. We conducted a one-year field experiment, in which we observed enhanced stress-hormone levels (cortisol and thyrotropin) in participants assigned to a 12-week performance evaluation cycle compared to participants remaining in a 6-week cycle. We found no corresponding difference between conditions on self-reported mental fatigue. This confirms our expectation and suggests that adopting a neurobiological view of job-related stress provides a complementary account of the effect of performance evaluation on both immediately experienced and delayed manifestations of job-related stress.

会计研究表明，绩效评估可能会导致被评估者经历与工作相关的压力，并表明此类评估的频率与压力之间存在正相关关系。在本文中，我们旨在修改此建议。由于绩效评估还涉及对被评估者的定期问责，我们预计低评估频率也会造成压力。借鉴关于平衡负荷的神经生物学文献，我们认为长期承担责任的预期威胁会随着时间的推移增加压力。这种积累通常不是有意识地经历的，而是以与延迟的工作相关功能障碍（如倦怠）相关的荷尔蒙模式显示出来。我们进行了为期一年的田间试验，在其中我们观察到，与留在 6 周周期内的参与者相比，分配到 12 周绩效评估周期的参与者的压力激素水平（皮质醇和促甲状腺素）有所提高。我们发现自我报告的精神疲劳条件之间没有相应的差异。这证实了我们的预期，并表明采用工作相关压力的神经生物学观点提供了绩效评估对工作相关压力的立即经历和延迟表现的影响的补充说明。