November 25, 2008 3:30 PM
- Text
Having a Bad Boss Is Bad for the Heart
- Treating Sleep Apnea in Kids Improves Behavior, Quality of Life
- Chemo May Not Harm Unborn Baby
- C-Sections Not Always Best for Small Babies
- CDC: Doctors Increasingly Prescribe Exercise
- Osteoporosis Medication Linked to Unusual Thigh Fractures
- Some Men May Inherit a Higher Risk of Heart Disease From Dad
- More from WebMD »
Generic heart (CBS/AP)
(WebMD)
People who consider their bosses to be unfair, arbitrary, inconsiderate, and generally deficient in managerial skills are at greater risk for having a heart disease event such as a heart attack , a new Swedish study shows.
And stress that workers think is caused by bad managers adds up, increasing risk of heart problems over time, the researchers report in the Nov. 24 issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Swedish scientists tracked the heart health of more than 3,000 male workers between 1992 and 1995. Their occupational health records then were matched with national registry data on hospital admissions and death from ischemic heart disease up to 2003.
During the monitoring period of almost a decade, 74 cases of fatal and non-fatal heart disease events such as heart attack, unstable angina , or cardiac arrest occurred. The more competent that workers ranked their managers, the lower their risk of serious heart problems.
The association between perceived leadership of managers and the risk of serious heart problems among workers increased the longer an employee worked for the same company, the study showed, suggesting that stress caused by bad bosses may increase over time.
The researchers suggest that companies take steps to improve managers' deficient skills, as rated by their subordinates, to ward off serious heart disease of workers.
"One could speculate that a present and active manager, providing structure, information, and support, counteracts destructive processes in work groups, thereby promoting regenerative rather than stress-related physiological processes in employees," writes Anna Nyberg of the Karolinska Institute and the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University.
Rating the Bosses
Participants used a rating system for their senior managers, grading them on such things as how good they were at communicating and offering feedback, their success at managing change, their ability to set goals, and how much they delegated.
Higher leadership scores were found to be associated with lower risk for heart disease, and the association was "robust to adjustments for education, social class, income, supervisory status, perceived physical load at work, smoking, physical exercise, [body mass index ], lipids, fibrinogen, and diabetes."
In short, the study shows that bad bosses can be hazardous to the health, and even to long life, of the people who work for them.
In another recent study, the researchers say, employees who were exposed to what they perceive as an adverse psychological work environment were found to be at a 50% excess risk of cardiovascular disease. The results from that study, the researchers write, "have considerable clinical implications, especially since psychosocial stressors at work are relatively common."
The researchers say evidence is mounting that the perceived quality of managerial behavior affects worker health. Workers are concerned about "considerate behavior" of bosses, how well managers are able to stimulate employees intellectually, and their ability to communicate with those who work under their supervision.
Questions used to rate bosses included such statements as "I am criticized by my boss if I have done something that is not good" and others about how well managers communicate their expectations.
What was clear was that workers who felt their bosses had trouble communicating information -- not just negative thoughts -- were at increased risk of developing heart problems. Training of managers about how to do their jobs better might be a good start, the researchers suggest.
By Bill Hendrick
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved
And stress that workers think is caused by bad managers adds up, increasing risk of heart problems over time, the researchers report in the Nov. 24 issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Swedish scientists tracked the heart health of more than 3,000 male workers between 1992 and 1995. Their occupational health records then were matched with national registry data on hospital admissions and death from ischemic heart disease up to 2003.
During the monitoring period of almost a decade, 74 cases of fatal and non-fatal heart disease events such as heart attack, unstable angina , or cardiac arrest occurred. The more competent that workers ranked their managers, the lower their risk of serious heart problems.
The association between perceived leadership of managers and the risk of serious heart problems among workers increased the longer an employee worked for the same company, the study showed, suggesting that stress caused by bad bosses may increase over time.
The researchers suggest that companies take steps to improve managers' deficient skills, as rated by their subordinates, to ward off serious heart disease of workers.
"One could speculate that a present and active manager, providing structure, information, and support, counteracts destructive processes in work groups, thereby promoting regenerative rather than stress-related physiological processes in employees," writes Anna Nyberg of the Karolinska Institute and the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University.
Rating the Bosses
Participants used a rating system for their senior managers, grading them on such things as how good they were at communicating and offering feedback, their success at managing change, their ability to set goals, and how much they delegated.
Higher leadership scores were found to be associated with lower risk for heart disease, and the association was "robust to adjustments for education, social class, income, supervisory status, perceived physical load at work, smoking, physical exercise, [body mass index ], lipids, fibrinogen, and diabetes."
In short, the study shows that bad bosses can be hazardous to the health, and even to long life, of the people who work for them.
In another recent study, the researchers say, employees who were exposed to what they perceive as an adverse psychological work environment were found to be at a 50% excess risk of cardiovascular disease. The results from that study, the researchers write, "have considerable clinical implications, especially since psychosocial stressors at work are relatively common."
The researchers say evidence is mounting that the perceived quality of managerial behavior affects worker health. Workers are concerned about "considerate behavior" of bosses, how well managers are able to stimulate employees intellectually, and their ability to communicate with those who work under their supervision.
Questions used to rate bosses included such statements as "I am criticized by my boss if I have done something that is not good" and others about how well managers communicate their expectations.
What was clear was that workers who felt their bosses had trouble communicating information -- not just negative thoughts -- were at increased risk of developing heart problems. Training of managers about how to do their jobs better might be a good start, the researchers suggest.
By Bill Hendrick
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved
Popular Now in Health
- America's sodium problem: Not from salty snacks?
- Caffeine inhalers - the next club drug?
- Chinese mom gives birth to 15-pound baby
- Norovirus outbreak hits Rider University in N.J
- Electric shocks to brain may boost memory: Study
- STD rates rise among elderly: Why?
- Skin cancer self-exam: What to look for (PHOTOS)
- Measles patient at Super Bowl prompts health alert
- America's pets also have an obesity epidemic
- Scottish twins, 102, are world's oldest: Guinness
- Drinking soda raises risk for asthma, COPD: Study
- Things You Didn't Know About Your Penis
- PICTURES: 15 Shocking Sexual Fetishes
- Dr. Liar? Study finds dishonest docs common
- Egg recall in 34 states over Listeria concerns
- McDonald's scraps "pink slime" from burgers
- Woman spotlights uterus didelphys on talk show
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook
on CBS News
- Panetta to Marines: "Look into" SS flag photo
- NH grade school reports self-inflicted shooting
- NYSE stocks posting largest percentage decreases
- Most active New York Stock Exchange-traded stocks
on Facebook
- Josh Powell had "incestuous" images on his home computer, authorities say
- Adele sings a cappella for Anderson Cooper
- Notorious teacher sex scandals
on CBS News
