This is no laughing matter since heart disease is the leading cause of death in the developed western world and—I was genuinely surprised to learn—has now become the leading killer in India, causing three million fatalities a year (The Lancet, Vol 372 August 16, 2008).

The good news…workers who believe they are treated fairly showed a 30% lower risk of heart disease than those who believe otherwise.

Lesson One: If you’re a boss, then for goodness sake be a decent boss. Be fair. Be kind. Be as tenderhearted as you are tough minded. Don’t make people lose heart. Treat employees the way you want to be treated.

Lesson Two. 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?
• Whether you believe they think you’re fair or not, how would you know? How can you find out for sure?
• If you suspect you may be a bad boss, who will help you do better?
• If you find out you really are a bad boss and do nothing, what will it cost you and your company?

If you suspect you report to the boss from hell…

• How can you find out (without a headlong descent into gossip) if you’re right about your boss or if it’s “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 a happy place where you can go to recover periodically through the 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 with you, offer fair critique and sober encouragement; someone who will pray for you and with you.

Whoever you are…

• Take a few minutes to read the FastCompany article and Dan Wooldridge’s Boss from Hell post.
• Take a little time to reflect on, and maybe discuss, the standards outlined in Ephesians 4:29 -32

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

According to Psychology Today, “Surveys show that up to half of all workers have a shaky, if not downright miserable, relationship with their supervisors.”

A Gallup report is equally blunt about this, “Employees leave their supervisors, not companies.” This is the number one reason people leave a company, more than compensation or work hours.

If you are a boss, let this serve as a wake up call.

My work as a leadership consultant made me aware this was the main reason people left companies. I was initially surprised about the health impact of bad bosses, but upon reflection I fully concurred with the findings.

Business gurus and consultants have been hyping the War for Talent for several years. Companies are desperately trying to identify and recruit talent. But few companies think reflectively and deeply about why they can’t keep talent. I’ve found that many are very dismissive of the people who leave.

• They weren’t the right fit.
• We always knew that they probably wouldn’t work out.
• It’s just the business that we’re in.
• I can’t believe they wanted more money.

In all these excuses, the theme is that the worker was the problem. But the research demonstrates that this is largely not the case.

The Gallup surveys and Brad Gilbreath’s work confirm that the number one reason for employee turnover and, perhaps, the number one reason for lower than expected work productivity is not workers, but bosses. It also appears that poor boss performance may affect the long term health of company employees, and that will become a financial issue.

I’ve observed four types of bad bosses.

The first is the true boss from hell, mean spirited and powerful, who uses his position and authority to intimidate and use people. Yes, there is still such abuse in business today, especially in privately held enterprises.

The second is the functionally incompetent boss. He may be well-intentioned, but his lack of leadership and management skill eventually creates such confusion and turmoil that people are exhausted.

The third is the emotionally incompetent boss. I remember a hallway conversation between a colleague and his boss: As the colleague pleaded and tried to explain about a coworker who was struggling, the boss just stared blankly, chuckled, and then moved on to other business. You could confront this leader with his problem all day long, but in the end he would still be in denial. Daniel Goleman describes this as a lack of emotional intelligence (a key predictor of leadership effectiveness).

The fourth is the positional boss. These bosses are often found in professional service organizations. They are in these positions, not because of proven ability to lead and manage, but because of seniority or standing as partners. Often these bosses are detached, seeking to do the minimum to protect their own compensation formulas. They allow conditions to continue in their companies that are adverse to others as long as they do not suffer personally in the short run. Aside from their own personal interests, decision making is always about the numbers, and not about the people.

And there are combinations of the above.

• Are you described in any of these categories? How do you know?
• How about your boss?
• What do you do if you are working for a bad boss? How is it affecting your health?
• Discuss how I Timothy 2:1-2 [New International Version] might be one of the things that you can do in relationship to a leader.

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

If you are a boss, read Proverbs 27:23-24 [New International Version].

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.

• Do you really know the condition of your people?
• Do you really give careful attention to your people?
• Your compensation (riches) and your position (crown) are not secure all by themselves. It is the people you lead who ultimately produce the results. Do you recognize that?
• If you were the subject of the survey and were recognized as the source of turnover, employee dissatisfaction, and poor employee health, how would you respond?