Research is linking increased risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, sleep problems, and anxiety to chronic stress caused by daily interactions with a “bad boss.”
“The evidence is clear that the leadership qualities of ‘bad’ bosses over time exert a heavy toll on employees’ health,” said Jonathan D. Quick, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a co-author of the book Preventive Stress Management in Organizations. (From Rebecca Shannonhouse / The Washington Post)
In a 2011 article for Psychology Today, Ray Williams references several workplace studies, citing that “a study of 6,000 British office workers found employees who felt that their supervisors treated them fairly had a 30 percent lower risk of heart disease. A 2008 meta-analysis of the connection between health and leadership by Jana Kuoppala and associates concluded that good leadership was associated with a 27 percent reduction in sick leave and a 46 percent reduction in disability pensions. The same study concluded that employees with good leaders were 40 percent more likely to report the highest levels of psychological well being including lower levels of anxiety and depression.”
Williams alludes to a liability question that may be an inevitable next chapter: If research begins providing conclusive evidence that a bad supervisor is a root cause of serious illness, does this create new liabilities for the employing organization?
(photo credit: Sean MacEntee via photopin cc)
