Role modelling:

Having team leaders and managers who model long hours and self-sacrifice creates a culture that makes it difficult for workers to look after their own needs without guilt. In Japan it was noted that it is not acceptable to leave work until your manager has done so, and in all settings it was noted that manager work behaviour set the scene or culture for the team.

It should also be acknowledged, as Dr Rob Gordon points out, all is not equal if workers are set a high bar and expected to match their leaders in terms of stress and work hours. The impacts of the stress, without the same access to influence, are potentially greater for the worker than the manager.

Senior managers often have temperaments that thrive on stress. A Whitehall study of English public servants showed a direct linear relationship between mortality and position in the hierarchy. The higher up the healthier you were and the longer you lived. The mitigating factor for the stress was the sense of control. Those naturally inclined to work in stressful situation had a sense of control over their own destiny and the destiny of others. Dr Rob Gordon - Consultant psychologist in emergency recovery