The article & study don’t say it,
But I’m assuming the premise Also extends out to mean [ed: oh, F***! -bad news for me, then; eh?]
That working with people who are less-intelligent but much nicer, is significantly better than working for/with a Brilliant Sociopath.
(Bounce that one off anyone who worked at Apple! :P )
So: Eight hours Sleep, 2+ Hours Commuting & Travel, ~3 Hours Eating, + Various Prep time, == You will be spending almost as much time with your co-workers, as you do in your personal life with your own family & friends; -in some cases, more.
Then pick your workplace VERY carefully.
And also jump ship as often as necessary.
Because according to the study cited in Jonah Lehrer’s Wired post, Peer-support by Friendly People in the workplace, or lack of it, can help determine if you Die earlier than you should.
There were a few other factors that , well -factor; too, and were strangely different for one group of participants versus another.
Oddly enough, this study at least partially jibes with some of what Malcolm Gladwell was saying in “Outliers” about Meaningful Work that is:
1) Complex
2) Has a Reward Directly Commensurate with Effort
3) Has a Great Deal of Autonomy.
It also compliments our earlier post here about Sarah Pressman’s work at CMU about the effect of loneliness on the immune system
I’m sure this is not the first or the last HT post or clinical study on the Eternal Struggle between Good Vs. Evil Health Vs. Work, and the real mechanisms of what certain states do to the human body and brain, but there are some good details at Wired and the other Links.
Photo Credits: “rice field workers”, by Gili Fahima
Links:
• Source: APA-Work-based predictors of mortality: A 20-year follow-up of healthy employees
• via: Wired
• More Coverage: Wikipedia-Whitehall Study | HT-Loneliness Immune System
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