Keller @ Large: Hoping The 'Suck-Up' Study Is Bogus

BOSTON (CBS) - I am not a scientist, nor do I play one on TV.

Perhaps that's why I'm more than a little skeptical of the never-ending parade of "scientific studies" that cross my desk, clamoring for attention that is often far beyond what the actual study merits.

One day food item X is horrible for your health, the next day, it's the best thing for you. In moderation, of course.

And any time you see a study being touted to prove a political point, tighten your grip on your wallet, it's almost surely a triumph of spin over substance.

And then there are the studies you see that are probably true, but which you fervently hope are not.

Like the new study in the Journal of Management Studies in which researchers surveyed a couple of hundred workers at two companies in China to measure their psychological stress and how it was affected by their relationship with the boss.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

Lo and behold, the study found that workers who aggressively kissed up to the boss felt better about their situation, and those who didn't felt ignored or excluded, experiencing "more job tension, emotional exhaustion and depressed mood at work."

It's just human nature, I guess - you tend to like the person who tells you how nice you look today better than the person who does not.

But bosses of New England, please, say it isn't so.

Tell me you've got more on the ball than that, that you look beyond cheap flattery and log-rolling when you evaluate the work product of your employees.

Consider how often we see political leaders get in trouble because they surround themselves with suck-ups, instead of advisors who will tell them the truth when they need to hear it.

Hey, nobody's perfect.

When your toothpaste quits on you, do you really want your secretary telling you your breath smells like a rose garden, or would you rather she handed you a mint?

This is one study we ought to hope is bogus.

But in case it isn't - hey boss, where did you get that absolutely beautiful tie?

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.