New research suggests managers who are miserable at work can pass their negative feelings on to team members.
Massey University professor Jarrod Haar said his research was the first to explore the emotional crossover process of depression in the workplace.
Professor Haar said 10 percent of bosses surveyed said their job made them feel depressed much or most of the time.
There was a direct correlation between managers' bad moods and that of the teams they managed, he said.
"It's this contagion effect - my boss sneezes the team catches a cold.
"Well if your boss is depressed, not only will they not perform well but that depression will catch to the people working for them.
"So in some respects, we should be telling our bosses 'hey boss, you need a day off because you're looking tired and ragged' because we know that might end up affecting us, as well."
