Works Discussion Paper

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Higher social status tends to be associated with advantageous outcomes, such as higher well-being and better physical health. However, some studies done in East Asian countries have found weaker associations between social status and health. The present work examined the association between managerial status and well-being/health among a large group of Japanese in the workforce (N = 9,123). The results showed that higher managerial status was associated with higher well-being, yet with worse physical health. The negative association between managerial status and physical health was partly explained by excessive and compulsive ways of working by people who occupy a higher managerial position. Such findings indicate a possibility that the responsibilities and burdens associated with higher status partly underlie the negative association between higher social status and health in Japan. Furthermore, other-orientation moderated the links between managerial status and outcomes; among people with higher managerial status, other-orientation was more strongly associated with desirable outcomes than those with lower managerial status. These findings suggest that being other-oriented may be beneficial, especially for those who occupy higher social status in Japanese cultural contexts.

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