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Parent Category: Upper-Intermediate News Lessons

Category: Business Lessons

Written by Chris Cotter

Ambition pushes people at work to succeed, receive praise, and eventually move up in the company. With the promotions and increased responsibilities, people also dream about new cars, bigger homes, more exotic vacations, and perhaps an earlier, more fulfilling retirement. But new research out of Britain showed without a doubt that promotions at work may actually harm the health of people.

Research indicated that the mental health of people worsened with a promotion. The negative effects weren't for the short term, and continued for a long time. Mental strain increased by an average of 10%. In addition, people were more likely to skip visits to the doctor. These people most often cited stress and not enough time because of the new job. The research also showed that a promotion didn't offer any health benefits at all.

Past studies have shown that stress can be a silent and deadly killer. It affects every part of the body. Stress can lead to heart disease, cancer, depression, and even more cases of the common cold. All of this occurs because stress slows or shuts down important bodily functions like digestion, physical growth, and parts of the immune system. Although the negative effects are just temporary if the stress is removed, frequent and severe cases cause the slow down to occur again and again. The effects add up over time.

The findings came from an annual survey which also included information from roughly 1,000 newly promoted people. And although the poor economy and the threat of joblessness are presently large enough to cause stress for some, there's now something else to worry about too: recognition and job promotion.