爲何好老闆經常不開心

Everyone wants their boss to play fair, but new research suggests that while doing so might make employees happy, it's not always so great for the boss. Specifically, bosses who are fair make their workers happier and their companies more productive, but in the end may burn themselves out, according to a new study led by Michigan State University's Russell Johnson.

Researchers found that the act of carefully monitoring the fairness of workplace decisions wears down supervisors both mentally and emotionally.

Johnson, an assistant professor of management, said that managers face a double-edged sword in maintaining structured, rule-bound fairness, known as procedural justice.

"While beneficial for their employees and the organization, it's an especially draining activity for managers," he said. "In fact, we found it had negative effects for managers that spilled over to the next workday."

As part of the study, researchers surveyed 82 bosses twice a day for a few weeks. Managers who reported mental fatigue from situations involving procedural fairness were less cooperative and less socially engaging with other workers the next day.

"Managers who are mentally fatigued are more prone to making mistakes, and it is more difficult for them to control deviant or counterproductive impulses," Johnson said.

Procedural justice fatigues managers mentally because it requires them to conform to particular fairness rules, such as suppressing personal biases, being consistent over time and across subordinates, and allowing subordinates to voice their concerns, according to Johnson.

"Essentially, managers have to run around making sure their subordinates' perceptions remain positive, whether the threat to the atmosphere of the workplace is real or imagined," he said. "Dealing with all of this uncertainty and ambiguity is depleting."

Knowing this type of burnout can occur, Johnson said it's critical managers create situations in which they are better prepared to cope with fatigue. He suggests several tips, including getting sufficient sleep, taking short mental breaks during the workday, adhering to a healthy diet and detaching from work completely when outside of the office.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, was co-authored by Klodiana Lanaj, an assistant professor at the University of Florida, and Christopher Barnes, an assistant professor at the University of Washington. Both were former Michigan State doctoral students.據外媒報道，每個員工都希望自己的老闆公平處事，但是新的研究表明，雖然這樣能夠讓員工快樂，但是老闆往往很爲難。根據密歇根州立大學拉塞爾-約翰遜進行的新研究表明，公正的老闆能使員工更加快樂，公司更加多產，但最後自己可能會心力交瘁。

研究者發現，如果一直小心翼翼保證工作中決定的公正性，公司主管會在精神和情緒上精疲力竭。

管理學助理教授約翰遜說，管理者在維持組織和規章的公平性——即程序公正時, 面臨着一把雙刃劍。

“儘管對員工和公司都有益處, 但這對於管理者是極耗腦力的工作，” 他說，“事實上，我們發現它對於管理者有負面影響，會延續到下一個工作日。”

作爲研究的一部分, 研究者調查了82位公司老闆, 一天兩次, 持續數週。老闆當中因爲保證程序公正而精神疲憊時，在第二天的工作中合作與交流能力均有所下降。

約翰遜說, " 精神疲憊的老闆更容易犯錯。他們很難控制好錯亂和消極的衝動。”

根據約翰遜的分析， 程序公正讓老闆精神疲憊的原因是, 它要求老闆遵循特定的公平法則, 比如抑制個人偏見, 平等對待下屬, 聽取他們的意見。

“根本上說, 老闆必須始終保證下屬持有積極的態度, 無論工作氛圍中出現的威脅是真實的還是想象的,”他說，“應對所有的這些不安定和模棱兩可的情況是極讓人疲憊的。”

約翰遜說, 意識到這種心力交瘁後, 老闆們可以創造出更好處理疲憊的環境, 這是至關重要的。他表示，有一些方面需要注意，包括保證充足的睡眠，工作時讓精神放鬆一會，保證健康飲食，下班後就完全拋開工作。

這項研究發表在《應用心理學》的雜誌上，參與研究的人還有佛羅里達大學的助理教授克洛蒂婭娜·拉娜和華盛頓大學的助理教授克里斯托弗·巴恩斯。他們兩人都曾是密歇根州立大學的博士生。