Can bad bosses actually kill?
With limbo now officially canceled, do bosses who kill go directly to hell? A recent prospective study of 506 males and 3,570 females measured “perceived justice” (supervisory practices) and absenteeism due to illness and self-reported health2. The rates of absence due to sickness among those perceiving low justice were 1.2 to 1.9 times higher than among those perceiving high justice. These associations remained significant even after statistical adjustment for behavioral risks, workload, job control, and social support. Wagner and her colleagues recently showed how working for jerks can directly cause an increase in blood pressure and how these leaders can be a potent workplace stressor which has clinically signicant impact on cardiovascular functioning3. Their field study of female healthcare assistants explored blood pressure as it related to perceptions of supervisor interaction style. Ambulatory blood pressure was measured every 30 minutes over a 12-hour period for three days. Sta
