为何好老板经常不开心

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.

据外媒报道，每个员工都希望自己的老板公平处事，但是新的研究表明，虽然这样能够让员工快乐，但是老板往往很为难。根据密歇根州立大学拉塞尔-约翰逊进行的新研究表明，公正的老板能使员工更加快乐，公司更加多产，但最后自己可能会心力交瘁。

研究者发现，如果一直小心翼翼保证工作中决定的公正性，公司主管会在精神和情绪上精疲力竭。

管理学助理教授约翰逊说，管理者在维持组织和规章的公平性——即程序公正时, 面临着一把双刃剑。

“尽管对员工和公司都有益处, 但这对于管理者是极耗脑力的工作，” 他说，“事实上，我们发现它对于管理者有负面影响，会延续到下一个工作日。”

作为研究的一部分, 研究者调查了82位公司老板, 一天两次, 持续数周。老板当中因为保证程序公正而精神疲惫时，在第二天的工作中合作与交流能力均有所下降。

约翰逊说, " 精神疲惫的老板更容易犯错。他们很难控制好错乱和消极的冲动。”

根据约翰逊的分析， 程序公正让老板精神疲惫的原因是, 它要求老板遵循特定的公平法则, 比如抑制个人偏见, 平等对待下属, 听取他们的意见。

“根本上说, 老板必须始终保证下属持有积极的态度, 无论工作氛围中出现的威胁是真实的还是想象的,”他说，“应对所有的这些不安定和模棱两可的情况是极让人疲惫的。”

约翰逊说, 意识到这种心力交瘁后, 老板们可以创造出更好处理疲惫的环境, 这是至关重要的。他表示，有一些方面需要注意，包括保证充足的睡眠，工作时让精神放松一会，保证健康饮食，下班后就完全抛开工作。

这项研究发表在《应用心理学》的杂志上，参与研究的人还有佛罗里达大学的助理教授克洛蒂娅娜·拉娜和华盛顿大学的助理教授克里斯托弗·巴恩斯。他们两人都曾是密歇根州立大学的博士生。