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title: Got Work Stress? Your Boss Is Raising Your Blood Pressure
description: Work stress hangs around longer than we think. A new study finds negative interactions with a boss predict elevated blood pressure all day
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article:published_time: 2015-12-15T15:19:26.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:45.494Z
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og:title: Your Boss Is Raising Your Blood Pressure
og:description: Work stress hangs around longer than we think. A new study finds negative interactions with a boss predict elevated blood pressure all day
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# How Your Boss Can Raise Your Blood Pressure

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## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ

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![Mandy Oaklander](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf730b17db5c29309/698938c986f68e5af66ea012/m_oaklander-staff-portrait.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)


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## Mandy Oaklander


Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.

Dec 15, 2015 3:19 PM UTC

![TIME.com stock photos Computer Keyboard Typing Hack](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2988e04a3a96509c/6987788855a8591eaea851d3/computer-hack-typing-keyboard.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME

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by 

[Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)


![Mandy Oaklander](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf730b17db5c29309/698938c986f68e5af66ea012/m_oaklander-staff-portrait.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Mandy Oaklander


Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.

Dec 15, 2015 3:19 PM UTC

Every time your boss bums you out, your heart takes a hit, finds new [research](http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2015-55061-001/) published in the _Journal of Occupational Health Psychology_. And the bad health effects linger long after you leave the office.

In the clever new study—the master’s thesis of Jennifer Wong of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia—researchers recruited 55 care workers with an average age of 43 from several nursing homes. They had been at their jobs for about 11 years. The people in the study wore a specialized blood pressure monitor for a whole workday until they went to sleep. The cuff inflated every hour to take an automatic reading.

**MORE**: [Answering E-mails After Work Is Bad For Your Health](http://time.com/3560203/stress-work-email/)

Every time they had a blood pressure reading, the workers answered brief survey questions asking what they had been doing at the time, how stressed they were, the last time they talked to their boss, and—on a 10-point scale—how positive or negative the chat with their supervisor had been.

Even after controlling for a range of factors that could influence blood pressure, the researchers found that when people had negative interactions with their boss, blood pressure went up. Surprisingly, these bad boss vibes also predicted elevated blood pressure at home.

**MORE**: [3 Steps To Minimizing Stress At Work](http://time.com/3672006/minimizing-work-stress/)

“This is important, because this now speaks to more than just an instantaneous stress response,” says study co-author E. Kevin Kelloway, Canada Research Chair in Occupational Health Psychology at Saint Mary’s University. When a boss berates you, the effect “carries over, and it doesn’t go away at night.”


The researchers think that one mechanism at play is rumination: the tendency to play a negative episode over and over again in your head. “People in a sense re-traumatize themselves,” Kelloway says, and this may contribute to the link between stressful work conditions and heart problems like hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Past research has shown that the boss-employee bond can either be a source of social support or a big stressor. “Your boss controls so much of your workplace: the task you’re assigned to, whether you get a bonus or a raise.” It’s a powerful relationship, says Kelloway—and having a good one seems to be better for the heart.

### You Asked: Your Top 10 Health Questions Answered

![You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy?](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4f67bf561c19347/698782c9cd684877ae09a0f6/you-asked-juice-cleanse1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy? Potions that claim to clear your body of toxins might sound alluring, but do they deliver? Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME


![You Asked: Is Dessert Bad For Me?](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cfe596c9c46cef3/698782c955a8596a35a86342/you-asked-is-dessert-bad-for-me1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

You Asked: Is Eating Dessert Really That Bad For Me? Bad news for sweet-eaters—except if you end your meals with this kind of treat. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME

![You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth?](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte00b460a5ccc623c/698782cb524fc014a3deccf8/you-asked-whiten-teeth1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth? Yes, teeth whitening actually works—but here's why you have to dish out major bucks to see results. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME

![You Asked: Is Meditation Worth It?](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a164a2e6854ed8e/698782cae20a87283da857a2/you-asked-meditation1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

You Asked: Is Meditation Really Worth It? From easing stress to lowering heart disease risk, focusing your mind can do some amazing things for your body. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME


![You Asked: What’s the Healthiest Sweetener?](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30d7e2263b49e395/698782cbcd1bbacc776f599b/you-asked-sugar1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

You Asked: What’s the Healthiest Sweetener? Take a taste of the unsettled science of sweeteners. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME

![You Asked: Should I Go Paleo?](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd69b72a813f1946/698782ca524fc082f4deccf4/you-asked-paleo-diet-healthy1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

You Asked: Should I Go Paleo? The pros and cons of eating like a caveman. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME

![You Asked: Is Cracking Your Knuckles Bad?](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37784d61fb48b1db/698782c85f570fe499b15a69/you-asked-cracking-knuckles-bad1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

You Asked: Is Cracking Your Knuckles Bad? Here's what really happens to your joints when you snap, crackle and pop. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME


![You Asked: Is Running on a Treadmill as Good as Running Outside?](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce4b2affe6e4e79f/698782cb0b72e3c3da6de137/you-asked-treadmill-running-outside1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

You Asked: Is Running on a Treadmill as Good as Running Outside? You'll fool your body into thinking it's outside with this one small treadmill tweak. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME

![You Asked: Does Laughing Have Real Health Benefits?](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0856456f52cddf73/698782c935ba6f815dc0777b/you-asked-laughing-good-for-health1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

You Asked: Does Laughing Have Real Health Benefits? Here's proof that everybody could use a belly laugh. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME

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You Asked: What Is My Poo Telling Me? If you listen hard enough, you'll hear all kinds of health stories from #2. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME

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