Do people become healthier after getting a promotion? The answer seems to be no, according to a new study. To the contrary, the study has found that promotions could undermine your peace of mind and curtail visits to the doctor.

Chris Boyce and Andrew Oswald from the University of Warwick questioned why people with higher job status seem to have better health.

A long-held assumption is that an improvement to a person's job status, through a promotion, will directly result in better health due to an increased sense of control and self-worth.

But the hypothesis was proved wrong.

The researchers drew upon the British Household Panel Survey data set, collected annually between 1991 and 2005, with information on approximately 1,000 individual promotions.

They found no evidence of improved physical health after promotion - nor that self-assessed feelings of health declined.

What they did find, however, was significantly greater mental strain. After a promotion, there was on average a 10 percent decrease in one's mental health measured in a standardised way across the British population, said a Warwick university release.

'Getting a promotion at work is not as great as many people think. Our research finds that the mental health of managers typically deteriorates after a job promotion, and in a way that goes beyond merely a short-term change,' said Boyce.

The research is scheduled for presentation at the Royal Economic Society's conference later this month.