  Using high-resolution dilatometry, we study the thermodynamic response of the
lattice parameters to superconducting order in a self-flux grown
Ba(Fe0.92Co0.08)2As2 single crystal. The uniaxial pressure dependencies of the
critical temperature of Tc, calculated using our thermal expansion and specific
heat data via the Ehrenfest relation, are found to be quite large and very
anisotropic (dTc/dpa = 3.1(1) K/GPa and dTc/dpc = - 7.0(2) K/GPa). Our results
show that there is a strong coupling of the c/a ratio to superconducting order,
which demonstrates that Tc is far from the optimal value. A surprising
similarity with the uniaxial pressure effects in several other layered
superconductors is discussed.
