Many people think that the main cause of employees' poor mental state, which may lead to the development of depression, is a large volume of work. However, a recent study by the University Hospital in Aarhus, Denmark, has shown that a huge pile of work is not enough to cause depression. Managers' unfair attitudes and unclear work procedures have a much greater impact.
The study, focused on linking depression with psychosocial work environment elements, involved 4,500 Danish employees between the years 2007 and 2009. The study used questionnaires, personal interviews, collecting samples of saliva and measuring the stress hormone cortisol. First, the researchers focused on how employees perceived fairness in their bosses' attitudes and the functioning of their organizations. The results clearly showed that depression is more likely to affect employees who worked in an environment with low levels of perceived fairness.
Furthermore, the study focused on the likelihood of an outbreak of depression among employees facing an increased workload and performance pressure in their work. In this case, however, no causal link has been found. The study leader, psychologist Matias Brødsgaard Grynderup, recommends that companies focus more on the role of their managers. "To put it simple, our research shows that it does not matter if you are busy at work – as long as you feel you are being treated in a just way by your supervisor," says Matias Brødsgaard Grynderup. Depression can be prevented by the fair behavior of managers, if well supported by clear and comprehensible work procedures.
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