Do you bottle up your anger when your boss treats you unfairly? It may be harming your health. A Swedish study found that men who "covertly coped" with work pressures were up to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack than their anger-releasing brothers.
The study, from the Stress Research Institute of Stockholm University, followed 2755 employed men without any history of heart disease from 1992 to 2003. After the study, 47 of the men had suffered a heart attack, some fatal, and researchers discovered that many of these men were the ones who suffered work conflict in silence, reports the MSNBC.
"After adjustment for age, socioeconomic factors, risk behaviors, job strain and biological risk factors at baseline, there was a close-response relationship between covert coping and the risk of incident myocardial infarction or cardiac death," wrote the study's authors.
The researchers suggested ways at dealing directly with conflict or unfair treatment by work colleagues or bosses such as protesting directly, talking to the person right away or, if the situation was too heated, speaking to them after things had calmed down.
The research was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The NSW Government initiative Live Life Well suggests other useful ways to relieve stress such as talking about your problem with other people, having a regular sleeping routine, getting regular physical activity and seeing your doctor if your stress levels get too high.
How do you cope with work stress? Comment below.
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