Ever notice how employees at Dunder Mifflin never take any sick days? Their extremely strong immune systems may have to do with their great Boss, Michael Scott. Our recent survey identifies a significant correlation with bosses and employee health.
Many professionals report that they suffer from stress and other health-related problems due to a poor work environment. In fact, 90% of employees report at least one ailment suffered at one time or another. Stress (64%) is most often cited, followed by limited physical activity (51%), unhealthy diet (50%), headaches (50%) and weight gain (49%). Interestingly, there are very few traits that correlate with one’s job type. Here’s a couple….Heart disease is prominant anmong C-level executives (president, CEO, etc.). High blodd pressure is dominated by senior executives (directors, GM’s). Excessive smoking, drinking and depression is prominant among those in administrative or clerical positions.
The correlation that does stand out (among the factors at work that may cause health-related issues) is boss type. We have found that bad bosses’ behavior can seriously impact employees’ health. Consider this:
- Employees with a boss that frequently leaves the office (for shopping, or workouts) can be nearly 20% more likely (than the avg. employee) to suffer from stress
- Employees with a boss who loves to watch videos (at work) are almost 30% more likely to suffer from muscle tension
- Employees with a boss frequently on facebook and twiiter (at work) are over 30% more likely to have an unhealthy diet
- Employees with a boss that works over 10 hours a day are 45% more likely to drink excessively (during work hours)
So what’s the good news? Employees lucky enough to have bosses that fail to show any of these bad behaviors tend to have the healthiest hearts and minds.
- Employees that failed to find fault with the boss were 33% less likely (than the avg. employee) to suffer from depression
- Employees that failed to find fault with the boss were 43% less likely to suffer from heart disease