Saturday, April 11, 2009

Promotion is bad for you: British research


LONDON (AFP) - - Job promotion can harm your health and leave you substantially less time to visit the doctor, British researchers claim in a study published Friday.

Economics and psychology researchers at the University of Warwick in central England found that promotion produces 10 percent more mental strain and leaves up to 20 percent less time to visit the doctor in the event of illness.

The team tested the assumption that an improvement in job status leads to better health due to an increased sense of self-worth.

Using data collected in Britain on about 1,000 individual promotions from 1991 to 2005, they found no evidence of improved physical health after promotion.

But they did find that people thrust into more senior jobs suffered significantly greater mental strain.

Researcher Chris Boyce said: "Getting a promotion at work is not as great as many people think. Our research finds that the mental health of managers typically deteriorates after a job promotion, and in a way that goes beyond merely a short-term change.

"There are no indications of any health improvements for promoted people other than reduced attendance at GP (General Practitioner) surgeries, which may itself be something to worry about rather than celebrate."

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