Partner Article

Honesty with boss is ‘good for your health’

Telling your boss what you think of them can be good for your health, according to new research.

Psychologists say giving managers feedback is more likely to make employees “happy, healthy and stress-free”, as the relationship between staff and line managers is said to be the most common cause of stress in the workplace.

Emma Donaldson-Feilder, from Affinity Health At Work, presented her survey findings to the British Psychological Society’s occupational psychology conference in Brighton.

Her study found that bosses who received feedback from staff were more likely to change their style and be seen as more effective.

Ms Donaldson-Feilder said: “Without holding a mirror up to a person, they can have blind spots about how they come across and, if they think they are already good enough, why should they change?

“The consequences of stress are pervasive - those under stress may experience psychological symptoms, such as anxiety or depression, physiological symptoms, such as palpitations or raised blood pressure, or cognitive symptoms such as reduced mental capacity.

“Stress is a significant cause of sickness absence and this puts pressure on those left behind to run the business, creating a cycle of uncomfortable pressure with costs to the individual and to the company.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .