Are physically fit bosses less prone to throwing fits? That’s what a new scientific study claims. Recruiter.com reports about an article in the Journal of Business and Psychology entitled “ Supervisor Workplace Stress and Abusive Supervision: The Buffering Effect of Exercise.”

The study’s researchers write that what employees consider “abusive supervision” occurs when supervisors are feeling heightened stress. However, the survey discovered that “the relationship between supervisor stress and abusive behavior can be diminished when supervisors engage in moderate levels of physical exercise.”

So what does this mean for bosses who want to keep cool under pressure? Recruiter.com is a little skeptical, to be sure, noting abusive supervisors they knew who regularly exercised, yet were still bullies. The article suggested, though, that it could be that for some bosses, “the lower risk of abusive supervisor behavior may simply be a welcome effect of his or her positive self-image shaped by exercise.”

Overall, though, one should not automatically think that exercise will lead to less abusive behavior, Recruiter.com cautions, saying that “there is no guarantee that a positive body image will inhibit abuse in general.” After all, as the article says, if it did, it would be expected that buff-beef San Quentin body-builder convicts pumping iron in the yard would be among the least abusive populations in the world.”

Written by Lisa Swan