Ever-changing goals and mandates may cause cynicism, distrust and bad work habits, we're told.

Bosses: Before you make yet another "revision" in the company's mission statement, "alter" a department's goals, or "tweak" a corporation's business strategy in the name of greater efficiency, take heed.

Constant changes may bring more harm than good to the business.

A company that shifts work "initiatives" (read: nonspecific mandates that no one can quite explain) the way Paris Hilton switches boyfriends could potentially spawn a distrustful work force, according to research by Washington University in St. Louis.

Couple the lack of clear goals with employees who are overworked, and "the employees become very cynical," said Judi McLean Parks, the head investigator of a recent study on the topic.

The result: Workers cut corners, playing fast and loose just to get the job done, said McLean Parks of the university's Olin School of Business.

For the study, some 215 information technology workers were surveyed, McLean Parks said. Employees who had low levels of cynicism were less likely to trim corners in their work; those overworked employees at companies with constantly changing goals were more apt to get the work done whatever way they could — sometimes sacrificing quality.

McLean Parks pointed to former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, who blatantly fabricated stories, as an example.

McLean Parks coined a term for managers who repeatedly alter work initiatives: "the fad of the month club."

Such flip-flopping may happen for several reasons: a manager may not give the change enough time to take hold; there may be a lack of resources to make the changes successful; or the strategy just didn't fit, McLean Parks said. Some bosses have this misguided notion of a "one-size-fits-all type of thing."

This type of workplace environment has potentially negative effects for the workers, the organization and the consumers, she said. For workers, "if you're taking these shortcuts all the time, you may begin to lose your pride in what it is that you and your company have produced. And we know that especially in northern America, your job is a huge part of your identity."

Research from the Families and Work Institute shows that one in three Americans is chronically overworked. The impact at work and home were clear in a study the institute published last year.

The study showed 20 percent of workers who reported high overwork levels said they made a lot of mistakes on the job, versus none of the employees with low overwork levels. Overworked employees were also more likely to be angry at employers, as well as at co-workers who don't work as hard as they do.

In their personal lives, overworked individuals were also more apt to be stressed, have poorer health, experience depression and neglect caring for themselves.

"Employers are beginning to see the healthcare costs" of stress-related illnesses, said Ellen Galinsky, president of the institute.

She said people who are "work-centric" tend to be more overworked. Employees can help stave off burnout by taking breaks throughout the day and going on vacations.