Add-on reading: April 2009

Having a bad boss could be bad for your heart. This is the conclusion of a Swedish study on management styles and health. The researchers concluded that poor managers can increase their employee's risk of developing heart disease. The Stockholm University study analyzed data on the health of 3,000 male workers. They compared the data with the results from questionnaires about senior managers. The questions asked workers if they thought their boss was considerate, communicated well and offered positive feedback. Other questions looked at how much work bosses gave to workers and how well they outlined their goals. The research team found that workers who respected their bosses were healthier and had fewer heart problems.
The report is published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. It suggests that companies should re-train bosses to improve worker health. A healthier workforce will improve the overall health of the company. Investing in providing leadership skills to senior managers could be a good long-term investment. The researchers said a more supportive and understanding boss would reduce the chances of workers developing high blood pressure and stress-related illnesses. Magnus Larsson, an engineer for a large IT company, agreed with the report’s findings. He believes his heart attack last year was because of his boss: “The guy was a monster. Working for him was a daily nightmare for eight years,” Larsson said.

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	A bad boss can increase your risk of having a heart attack.	T / F
b.	Managers who don’t have a lot of money develop heart disease.	T / F
c.	Interviewers questioned 3,000 men and women for their research.	T / F
d.	Workers who respected their bosses had a few heart problems.	T / F
e.	A report says that training managers would make staff healthier.	T / F
f.	The report says training bosses is a good investment in the long run.	T / F
g.	The report says bosses are good at understanding blood pressure.	T / F
h.	An IT worker had a bad time every day and worked for a monster.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1.	bad	a.	chance
2	poor	b.	thoughtful
3.	risk	c.	conclusions
4.	considerate	d.	advance
5.	outlined	e.	ogre
6.	improve	f.	no good
7.	investment	g.	cut
8.	reduce	h.	summarized
9.	findings	i.	bad
10.	monster	j.	outlay

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one. combination is possible):

1.	Having a bad boss	a.	of 3,000 male workers
2	increase their employee's risk of	b.	related illnesses
3.	data on the health	c.	improve worker health
4.	communicated well and offered	d.	term investment
5.	who respected their bosses were	e.	developing heart disease
6.	companies should re-train bosses to	f.	understanding boss
7.	a good long-	g.	could be bad for your heart
8.	a more supportive and	h.	nightmare
9.	high blood pressure and stress-	i.	positive feedback
10.	Working for him was a daily	j.	healthier

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Having a bad boss could be bad for your heart. This is the __________ of a Swedish study on management styles and health. The researchers concluded that poor managers can __________ their employee's risk of developing heart disease. The Stockholm University study analyzed __________ on the health of 3,000 male workers. They compared the data with the results from questionnaires about __________ managers. The questions asked workers if they thought their boss was __________, communicated well and offered positive feedback. Other questions __________ at how much work bosses gave to workers and how well they outlined their __________. The research team found that workers who respected their bosses were healthier and had __________ heart problems.

senior
goals
conclusion
fewer
data
looked
increase
considerate

The report is __________ in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. It suggests that companies should re-train bosses to __________ worker health. A healthier workforce will improve the overall health of the company. Investing in __________ leadership skills to senior managers could be a good long-term investment. The researchers said a more supportive and understanding boss would reduce the __________ of workers developing high blood __________ and stress-related illnesses. Magnus Larsson, an engineer for a large IT company, __________ with the report’s findings. He believes his heart __________ last year was because of his boss: “The guy was a monster. Working for him was a daily __________ for eight years,” Larsson said.

pressure
providing
attack
published
nightmare
chances
agreed
improve