Bad managers harm staff
Tuesday November 25th, 2008
Incompetent managers give their staff heart disease, researchers claimed today.
A Swedish study has found a direct link between heart health and employees' view of their managers.
The study of 3,000 men in employment found that the more respect staff had for their senior managers, the lower their risk of heart disease.
And the longer a man had worked for bad managers, the greater their risk of illness, according to the study, reported in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Lifstyle factors such as smoking and exercise and social class or income made no difference to the findings.
Workers were asked to describe the leadership style of their managers through factors such as consideration for individuals, clear setting of goals, good communication and management of change.
The researchers led by Anna Nyberg, of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, say: "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."
Occup Environ Med 2008 doi 10.1136/oem.2008.039362
Tags: Heart Health | Europe
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