Poor managers mean serious health risks says BMJ research

Poor managers mean serious health risks says BMJ research

New research has shown an intrinsic link between inept management practices and problems with mental health among employees.

The study by academics at the University of South Australia, published in the British Medical Journal, suggests employees working in a ‘toxic culture’ are three times more likely to develop depression. There are also higher risks of death from heart disease and stroke. Where there is a lack of attention to employee wellbeing, it’s men who are more at risk of depression than women.

Problematic practices include making unreasonable demands, a lack of acknowledgment and rewards for good work and low levels of staff autonomy.

A problem shared…

Linked research has also found that a lack of a sense of ‘psychological safety’ at work is a predictor of bullying and emotional exhaustion.

Sometimes stress is a trigger for bullying and in the worst cases it can set an ‘acceptable’ level of behaviour for other members of the team,” said Professor Maureen Dollard. “But above all, bullying can be predicted from a company’s commitment to mental health, so it can be prevented. The global costs of workplace bullying and worker burnout are significant, leading to absenteeism, poor work engagement, stress leave and low productivity.”

What’s toxic?

“How do HR know when the workplace environment has tipped over into a dangerously toxic state?” said EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell. “The business context might be challenging, management might have needed to make some tough decisions, demands on staff may have increased – but none of that means the culture is toxic. What matters is that management are keeping to the values of the organisation, working relationships are still good, people feel they are being listened to and wellbeing remains a priority.

“Tracking the use of EAPs can be a valuable source of anonymised data on trends, to look for patterns in terms of concerns over workloads, relationship breakdowns, bullying etc. This kind of early warning system is crucial for flagging issues with management, as well as for tailoring support via the EAP and other wellbeing benefits.”

Poor managers mean serious health risks says BMJ research