Promotion piles on the pressure and can damage mental health

Published on Friday 10 April 2009 22:13

CLIMBING the career ladder may be a priority for many workers, but researchers now claim the effects of promotion could do more harm than good.

The assumption has long been that improving your job status will lead to better health due to an increased sense of control and self-worth in the workplace.

But researchers have now found that not only does promotion not lead to increased well-being, it is actually damages your mental health.

Union leaders said the research highlighted the need to tackle the long-hours culture which has developed for many workers in the UK.

The latest study, carried out by economics and psychology researchers at the University of Warwick, looked at data from the British Household Panel Survey between 1991 and 2005.

The survey includes information on many aspects of life including work, self-reported health and other medical information.

The findings included information on around 1,000 individual promotions.

Researchers Chris Boyce and Professor Andrew Oswald found no evidence of improved physical health after someone had been promoted, nor that their general health declined.

But they did find a significant increase in mental strain after someone had moved up the ranks.

There was an average of a 10 per cent decrease in people's mental health as measured across the British population.

The researchers also found that after promotion, the number of visits people paid to their doctor fell by 20 per cent.

But the researchers said the drop in GP visits did not match a change in improved health. This suggested that increased stress levels put more constraints on workers' freedom, meaning they simply had less time in which to visit the doctor.

Mr 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 is no indication of any health improvements for promoted people other than reduced attendance at GP surgeries, which may itself be something to worry about rather than celebrate."

Matt Smith, the Scottish Secretary of Unison, said: "Our biggest worry is the long-hours culture that has developed. Everyone is expected to work these long hours and there is pressure on people to put in this extra time.

"That has to be addressed. When someone is promoted there might be even more pressure to work longer hours."

The research will be presented at the Royal Economic Society's conference later this month at the University of Surrey.