Losing Your Job Is Terrible, But . . .

Of course, losing your job can be a real financial disaster, causing upsets to your lifestyle and self-esteem. However, it pays to try to take an optimistic view. One aspect is a change in the stress you experience every day. Being out of work and looking for a new place is stressful in itself, but you may have escaped from a stressful work environment.

A Swedish study, just published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, describes results of the Work, Lipids, and Fibrinogen (WOLF) study of more than 3,000 male employees in the Stockholm area. The managerial skills of their bosses (consideration for individual workers, clarity of goals and expectations, supplying information and feedback, ability to carry through work changes, and support for employee participation and control) were rated by the employees. Participants’ hospital admissions and/or death from coronary heart disease were obtained from medical records.

There were 74 coronary heart disease events during the follow-up period of 9.7 years. There was a clear relationship between fewer coronary events and better managerial scores. This relationship was stronger the longer the subject had been in the same workplace.

This study confirms those from other sources showing that poor managerial practices place a strain on an employees’ cardiovascular health. It also makes clear that the longer an individual stays with the same employer the greater the cardiovascular risk. So a forced change of job may not be such a terrible thing for some people. They should use the opportunity to reconsider all their options, even if some of them represent a financial setback. It’s better to have health than wealth.