According to researchers, people at higher posts enjoy better income and attractive job profiles, which, in turn, should lead to better health prospects than those of workers without these benefits.
Sociologist Scott Schieman from the University of Toronto, the study’s lead author stated, "That's the puzzle we started with ... that most people who have more favorable work conditions tend to have better health.
"But job authority is the one characteristic that presents the puzzle here, the paradox, in that studies have found there doesn't appear to be any (health) benefit for people who have authority."
Researchers conducted a study to explore the positive and negative impact of authority in workplace and why people lack the expected physical and psychological benefits thought to be associated with the power status.
The researchers looked at data from a nationwide U.S. survey of 1,800 American adults. They belonged to various occupations and industries. These people were asked about things such as job authority and general health issues.
The drawbacks of authoritative positions
Leaders are under constant pressure, scrutiny and evaluation, brought about by the unique demands of their position.
They wield power, make decisions with limited information, manage conflicts, do more with less, hire and fire workers. The consequences of such high strung jobs can cause health problems and deteriorating relationships.
“Power at work does have drawbacks, and the negative impact on personal health – both emotional and physical – is one of them,” says Schieman.
Two common types of stresses
According to researchers, influential people face two types of common stresses that offset any health benefits their job offers.
"One is that they are exposed to more interpersonal conflict in the workplace, problems with other people, directing other people's work, incompetent workers," Schieman says.
"The other thing is they tend to bring work home with them more often than others who don't have authority," he added.
These tensions are directly associated with physical and mental health problems, including headaches, backaches, insomnia, anxiety and distress.
"In other words, there's essentially no difference between people who have job authority and those who don't in terms of levels of health. And the reason is because of these competing or offsetting kinds of positives and negatives," says Schieman.
The study has been published online by the journal Social Science and Medicine.
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