BEING BOSS U ARE LESS LIKELY TO SUFFER A HEART ATTACK !!!!

[Daanyeer]

Why being the boss means you are less likely to suffer a heart attack

Leaders are 'less stressed because of heightened sense of control'



By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED:03:46 GMT, 25 September 2012| UPDATED: 03:47 GMT, 25 September 2012


Being a boss is often regarded as highly stressful.

But despite the burden of extra responsibilities, leadership could actually protect you against a heart attack rather than cause one.

A study suggests workers higher up the food chain suffer less stress because being in charge offers a heightened sense of control.






The findings uphold research earlier this month that showed being bossed around at worked increases the risk of a heart attack by 23 per cent.

The latest study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, tested the popular idea that leadership engenders greater stress.

Almost 150 bosses recruited by Harvard University researchers had less of the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva than 65 non-leaders.





They also suffered less anxiety according to the results of self-reported questionnaires given to the participants who came from various professions and an executive education program for senior government and military officials.

A second study of the leaders then found the ones holding in the most powerful positions had lower cortisol levels and anxiety reports than those whose posts were less influential.

The researchers said the findings which held true for all ages, gender and ethnic backgrounds suggest leadership levels might be inversely tied to stress.






Professor Jennifer Lerner said: 'As people ascend to positions of leadership demands increase dramatically, but the number of hours in the day does not increase.

'Because stress results when demands exceed resources leadership is often viewed as highly stressful.

'Not surprisingly social scientists and practitioners have proposed and developed scores of tools to help leaders manage their stress and leader stress management has become a vibrant industry.'

But she said in two studies her researchers found clear evidence leadership is associated with lower levels of stress.

Prof Lerner said: 'This relationship emerged when we compared leaders with non-leaders and when we looked at variations in status within a group of leaders.

'Furthermore, in both cases, the relationship appeared across two distinct manifestations of stress - one physiological and one psychological.'

A previous study on rhesus macaque monkeys found higher social rank is linked with lower cortisol - especially apparent when harassment of subordinates is frequent.

Prof Lerner said: 'These findings build on research regarding social rank in non-human primates to provide a clear answer to the question of whether leadership, in humans, is associated with higher or lower levels of physiological and psychological stress.

'Both the social science and practitioner literatures have assumed being a leader is highly stressful but leaders’ physiology and psychology show otherwise.

'Leaders possess a particular psychological resource - a sense of control - that may buffer against stress.'









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