Getting Along with Co-Workers Can Increase Your Life Span

I have spent a lot of years in the restaurant business as an owner and manager. Ownership had its own problems, but working for somebody else is something entirely different and something that most of us have experienced. I've had bosses that I liked fairly well, and others that I hated. The same applies to the about two thousand employees that I have had working for me other the years.

When I was and assistant, I met another assistant that I would later go into business with and one who became a lifelong friend. I've also just about went to blows with one of the bosses I had. But most of the time I hired subordinate managers and employees that I liked working with. To me, attitude was everything.

I would rather have a mediocre employee that I could develop than a superstar with an attitude. When you have to spend 10+ hours a day with someone, getting along with them becomes even more essential. The same applies to marriage. And sometimes you spent more time with your employees than with your wife. But there were some other managers that I didn't get along with very well. I would rather be a cheerleader than a traffic cop, and that didn't set well with a lot of people.

Now it seems that getting along with your fellow employees may not only have immediate benefits, but long term ones as well. According to Medical News Today:

"Having supportive co-workers may help you live longer than counterparts without, while support from the boss appears to make no difference, said researchers from Israel in a study published in the May issue of the journal Health Psychology."

The researchers also found something else that was interesting. Having more control over your job seemed to reduce stress in men and lengthen their lives, but it increased it in women and their lives were shortened. Maybe that's because women tend to get more resistance from the male workers that work underneath them, I don't know.

The researchers adjusted for individuals that had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, drinking, depression, and those who smoked cigarettes. They also counted the number of hospitalizations. So it looks like getting along in the workplace increases our lifespan and reduces stress. Pretty simple, but how many people actually do it?

Recently I had a part-time job at a restaurant in the mall. I worked at a restaurant in the food court. I'm semi-retired, but I just can't seem to give up restaurant work. Force of habit. Most of the people that I worked with were Hispanic and they were a great group of guys. The district manager came in and worked 1 day a week. Everybody liked him because he was a lot of fun. Can you imagine that, wanting to work with the big boss?

I haven't worked there for five months now. The other day Dave, the district manager, called me, a part-time employee that he hadn't seen in months, just to see how I was doing. That, and the time I spent with him and the rest of the crew probably increased my life span by a couple of years. Thanks guys!

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/225646.php