A positive relationship with your co-workers has long-term health benefits, a Tel Aviv University researcher revealed.
Dr. Sharon Toker of the Department of Organizational Behavior at TAU's Leon Recanati Graduate School of Business Administration says that employees who believe that they have the personal support of their peers at work are more likely to live a longer life.
"We spend most of our waking hours at work, and we don't have much time to meet our friends during the weekdays. Work should be a place where people can get necessary emotional support," stated Dr. Toker.
Dr. Toker and her TAU colleagues Prof. Arie Shirom and Yasmin Alkaly, along with Orit Jacobson and Ran Balicer from Clalit Healthcare Services, followed the health records of 820 adults who worked an average of 8.8 hours a day through a two-decade period.
Those who had reported having low social support at work were 2.4 times more likely to die sometime within those 20 years, according to Dr. Toker.
During the course of the study, 53 participants died, most of whom had negligible social connections with their co-workers, he says.
A lack of emotional support at work led to a 140 percent increased risk of dying in the next twenty years compared to those who reported supportive co-workers, she concluded.
The study has been published in the journal Health Psychology.
http://www.israelnews.net/story/821446/ht/Good-relationship-with-co-workers-increases-your-lifespan