By Dalia Colón -
For some moviegoers, the summer flick Horrible Bosses hit way too close to home. A recent Florida State University survey found that plenty of employees view their supervisor as a lying, empty-promise-making, narcissistic Jekyll-and-Hyde who’s more concerned with keeping his or her own job than anything else.
Toiling for a bad boss can cause problems long after you’ve punched out. Workplace tension often leads to round-the-clock stress.
According to FSU research, 32% of respondents said they work for a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." (Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
“Numerous surveys show that job stress is far and away the leading source for American adults,” says Dr. Paul Rosch, president of the American Institute of Stress. “It’s not very much different than other types of stress, except it tends to be chronic.”
Chronic stress has all sorts of symptoms, from headaches and hair loss to insomnia and constipation. It’s also been linked to heart attacks and strokes, not to mention overeating, drug and alcohol abuse, gambling addiction and domestic violence.
But in this lousy job market, beggars can’t be choosers. Unless your boss’ behavior is illegal, he or she likely isn’t going anywhere, and neither are you.
“In general, what we’re seeing as related to the recession, bosses are thinking of themselves first, second, third and protecting whatever turf or resources they have, rather than trying to develop people,” says Florida State University business professor Wayne Hochwarter, who conducted the research. He adds that most bosses are good people trying their best, under tremendous pressure themselves.
Rosch and Hochwarter say a difficult boss isn’t likely to change, so you’re better off managing stress yourself. Try these techniques, like breathing deeply or visualization, which Hochwarter says will lead to “a complete sense of deep relaxation.” If those don’t work, Rosch recommends a biofeedback device like the StressEraser or emWave.
All together now: Namaste.
This reporter can be reached at daliacolon@wusf.org.
Related Stories:
| From HealthyState.org: A Little Brown-Nosing Does a Body Good |
| From HealthyState.org: 5 Emerging Mental Health Concerns |
| From HealthyState.org: How an Army Veteran Convinced Me to Attend Yoga Class |