As we all know, the key reason people leave an organization voluntarily is due to how they see their boss. Forget better opportunities...if the employee likes his or her boss, they are usually not even looking for other opportunities. There are exceptions to that as some people just want to get ahead and sometimes they feel the best way to do that is to take a different path. However, the biggest reason that people leave organizations is due to their boss.
We now know that Bad Bosses don't just cause turnover, it turns out they could be damaging your health. A study by the Karolinska Institute and Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Sweden, found that workers' risk for angina, heart attack and death rose along with the reported incompetence of their bosses.
Without going into all of the details of the study, the study found that there were 74 cases of fatal and nonfatal heart attacks or angina or death from heart diseases. The researchers found that the more competent the men (I am not being sexist here...the study was men only) felt their bosses were, the lower their risk of developing heart disease. In contrast, the poorer men rated their boss's leadership ability, the higher the risk for heart disease. In fact, the risk increased the longer someone worked in the same stressful environment.
I do believe the study is right on. What I also believe is that no one should continue to place their health in jeopardy due to a bad boss. If you are unhappy, do something about it. Find a new job, open your own business, consult the Employer Assistance folks if your company offers that, and if necessary, talk with Human Resources about it.
By all means, if you find yourself in one of these situations, make absolutely sure you do the right things to take care of your health. Work out, eat right, drink in moderation for those of you who are not recovering like me, and always, always, always, remember you have options. You do not have to be stuck in a job with a bad boss.
Do not allow yourself to play the role of the victim. Life is too short, there is no dress rehearsal, and to my knowledge, there is no mulligan when death is involved. (For the non-golfers, a mulligan is a do-over when you hit a bad shot)
If you are a boss, remember to use your power for good and not for evil. Don't be a "carrier". I used to say that certain individuals did not have high blood pressure... they just caused it in others and as a result were carriers of high blood pressure.
Be an Every Day Leader who communicates clearly the vision and the strategies, provides feedback, lets people do their jobs, rewards them when they do good and listens and listens and listens. Most of all care about what happens to your people.
Don't be a Carrier...It is what you do every day that counts!
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