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Taking appreciation to heart: appreciation at work and cardiovascular risk in male employees
Alisa Auer1,2, Norbert K Semmer1,3, Roland von Känel4
1Biological Work and Health Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
Insights
Feeling appreciated at work is linked to better heart health. Higher workplace appreciation correlates with lower coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, including reduced blood pressure and improved blood lipids.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Health
- Occupational Health Psychology
Background:
- Perceived appreciation at work is linked to self-reported well-being.
- Limited research exists on the association between workplace appreciation and biological health markers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between workplace appreciation and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.
- To determine the specificity of this association using biological health markers.
Main Methods:
- 103 male participants (healthy, hypertensive, CHD patients) were studied.
- CHD risk assessed via mean arterial pressure (MAP), HbA1c, lipid ratios, coagulation markers, and inflammation markers.
- Perceived appreciation and confounding psychological factors measured via self-report questionnaires.
Main Results:
- Higher appreciation at work correlated with lower overall composite CHD risk (p≤0.011).
- Specifically, higher appreciation was linked to lower MAP (p≤0.007) and blood lipids (p≤0.031).
- These associations were independent of confounding psychological factors (p≤0.049).
Conclusions:
- Workplace appreciation may serve as an independent, health-promoting resource for reducing CHD risk.
- Encouraging workplace appreciation could potentially mitigate the development and progression of CHD.
Introduction:
While perceived appreciation at work has been associated with self-reported health and wellbeing, studies considering biological health markers are lacking. In this study, we investigated whether appreciation at work would relate to coronary heart disease (CHD) risk as well as the specificity of this proposed association.
Methods:
Our study comprised a total of 103 male participants, including apparently healthy, medication-free, non-smoking men in the normotensive to hypertensive range (n = 70) as well as medicated hypertensive and CHD patients (n = 33). CHD risk was assessed by blood pressure [mean arterial pressure (MAP)], the diabetes marker glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood lipids [total cholesterol (TC)/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio], coagulation activity (D-dimer and fibrinogen), and inflammation [interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP)]. Perceived appreciation at work, as well as potentially confounding psychological factors (social support, self-esteem, and work strain due to a lack of appreciation), were measured by self-report questionnaires.
Results:
We found higher appreciation at work to relate to lower overall composite CHD risk (p's ≤ 0.011) and, in particular, to lower MAP (p's ≤ 0.007) and lower blood lipids (p's ≤ 0.031) in medication-free participants as well as all participants. This overall association was independent of confounding factors, including related psychological factors (p's ≤ 0.049).
Discussion:
Our findings indicate that appreciation at work might be an independent health-promoting resource in terms of CHD risk. Implications include that encouraging appreciation at work may help reduce the development and progression of CHD.
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