FastCompany picks up a thread InsideWork’s Dan Wooldridge recently posted on in The Boss from Hell. Noting the toxic relationships in many workplaces FastCompany cites research suggesting that workers who think their bosses are unfair may face significantly greater risk of heart disease than, ahem, the rest of us.
This is, of course, no laughing matter since heart disease is the leading cause of death in the developed world.
The good news…workers who believe they are treated fairly showed a 30% lower risk of heart disease than those who believe otherwise.
One lesson. If you’re a boss, then for goodness sake. be a decent boss. Be fair. Be kind. Be tenderhearted even when you’re tough minded. Don’t make people lose heart. Treat employees the way you want to be treated.
Another lesson. If your boss is a jerk, find ways to protect your emotional, physical and spiritual well-being. The experts agree: You can’t control your boss but you can learn to control your blood pressure.
If you’re the boss…
- Do you believe your employees think you’re fair?
- Either way, how would you know? How can you find out for sure?
- If you find out you’re a bad boss, who will help you do better?
- If you find out you’re a bad boss and do nothing, what will it cost you and your company?
If you work for the boss from hell…
- How can you find out (without gossiping) if you’re right about your boss or if it "just you?"
- If it’s not "just you" and if you’re not in a position to fire your boss and find a new one, what can you do to create healthy spaces for recovery every day?
- How can you protect yourself from the temptation to slack off or "punish" your boss with poor work?
- Get a confidential partner — someone who will talk straight, offer sober encouragement and fair critique; someone who will pray for you and with you.
Whoever you are…
- Download a few episodes of The Office for your new iPod and see if anything looks familiar (See, now you have to get a new iPod — it’s for work).
- Take a few minutes to read the FastCompany article and Dan Wooldridge’s Boss from Hell post.
