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Good Boss, Bad Boss, Workers' Mental Health and Productivity: Evidence from Japan

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  • KURODA Sachiko
  • YAMAMOTO Isamu

Abstract

It is widely believed that the relationship between a supervisor and his/her employees greatly affects employees' well-being and/or productivity. However, only a few papers in the economics literature analyze how supervisors influence employees' well-being and enhance productivity. This paper uses longitudinal data of employees with information about their immediate bosses' ability, management skills, and characteristics (such as competency, communication skills, and personality traits) to investigate the influence of supervisors on employees. The main findings are as follows. First, even after controlling for individual-specific fixed effects and other job characteristics, such as those proposed in the job strain model, we find that supervisors' good communication with staff and competency in managerial tasks significantly improve employees' mental health. Second, we find that good communication between the boss and his/her staff enhances the latter's productivity and lowers presenteeism. Third, supervisors' bad communication and low competency increase the probability of quitting. Fourth, good communication partially depends on boss-staff compatibility, which is governed in part by their combined personality traits.

Suggested Citation

  • KURODA Sachiko & YAMAMOTO Isamu, 2016. "Good Boss, Bad Boss, Workers' Mental Health and Productivity: Evidence from Japan," Discussion papers 16101, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    • Handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:16101
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Oshio, Takashi & Shimizutani, Satoshi, 2019. "Health capacity to work and its long-term trend among the Japanese elderly," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 76-86.
    2. Isham, Amy & Mair, Simon & Jackson, Tim, 2021. "Worker wellbeing and productivity in advanced economies: Re-examining the link," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    3. ASUYAMA Yoko & OWAN Hideo, 2024. "People Management Skills, Senior Leadership Skills and the Peter Principle," Discussion papers 24037, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    4. Eiji Yamamura & Yoshiro Tsutsui, 2021. "How COVID-19 influences healthcare workers' happiness: Panel data analysis in Japan," Papers 2101.10408, arXiv.org.
    5. Manish Kumar Pandey & Bushra Sumaiya & Aashima Arora & Rashmi Mehrotra, 2022. "Communication Skills for Enhanced Teaching Skills," World Journal of English Language, Sciedu Press, vol. 12(3), pages 172-172, April.
    6. INUI Tomohiko & KAWAKAMI Atsushi & MA Xin Xin & ZHAO Meng, 2019. "Does Mental Health Affect Labor Market Outcomes? Evidence from a National Representative Survey in Japan," Discussion papers 19061, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    7. Yumi Ishikawa & Miki Kohara & Aya Nushimoto, 2022. "Job stress and mental health among social workers: evidence from a field experiment at a public employment support institution in Japan," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 123-146, January.
    8. Violeta Cvetkoska & Milanka Dimovska, 2021. "What Will Be The Productivity Of Employees With Shorter Work Hours?," International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), Computer Science Journals (CSC Journals), vol. 12(4), pages 139-162, August.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

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