It's official: Bad bosses can be fatal - at least according to Robert Sutton, author of Good Boss, Bad Boss who is also known as the father of the jerk-free workplace.
A professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University, and organisational behaviour at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Sutton is a prolific academic writer whose books include The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't - the 2007 New York Times and BusinessWeek best-seller.
In Good Boss, Bad Boss, Sutton offers a rough guide to the virtues and vices of authority and 'a blueprint for those whose bosses just don't seem to get it'.
The findings are based on Sutton's 30-year career as a researcher, and thousands of observations and conversations with bosses, their colleagues and employees. Although most of his insights are common sense, they still pack a punch.
Consider this: A Swedish study that followed 3,122 men for 10 years found that those with the best bosses - who were considerate, specified clear goals and saw through changes - suffered fewer heart attacks than those with bad bosses.
Or this: Certified 'bossholes' - defined by the Urban Dictionary as 'the deadly hybrid of boss and asshole' - 'ruin their followers' mental health by provoking anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome'.