According to my latest study of 35 executives, 82 percent stated that relationship issues at work create stress. In particular, relational conflict (a subtheme of relational issues) contributed to work stress for 51 percent of executives. The study, which analyzed the relationship among executive coaching, stress, and burnout, found that many executives used time with coaches to determine the best approaches to deal with conflict such as how to manage a challenging and demanding supervisor, deal with a lack of trust, and have difficult conversations.