Over half of business owners feeling increasingly stressed (Armenian)
March 17, 2010
More than half of leaders of privately held business (PHBs) globally
(56%) feel their stress levels have increased over the last year. The
research from the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR)
2010 cover the opinion of over 7,400 business owners across 36
economies. Mainland China tops the league for the most stressed leaders
with 76% of business owners saying their stress levels have increased
over the last year.
Other economies that featured high in the stress league table were
Mexico (74%), Turkey (72%) and Greece (68%). In Armenia the percentage
of businessmen, who indicate increased stress level compared to 2009 is
equal to 58%.
There appears to be a link between stress levels and GDP. Business
owners in mainland China, Vietnam, Mexico, India and Turkey all feature
high on the stress league table and are working in environments, where
high growth is expected. But it's not just in countries expecting high
growth that stress levels are high - at the opposite end of the growth
scale Ireland, Spain and Greece all feature high on the league scale.
Alex MacBeath, global leader - markets at Grant Thornton International
comments, "We have businesses at both ends of the GDP growth scale
experiencing high stress for very different reasons. In mainland China
the pressure is on to keep up with the pace of expansion while in
Ireland, for example, the economy is retracting and business owners are
worried about how they will keep their business alive."
Business owners were asked about the major causes of workplace stress.
Not surprisingly, the most common cause during 2009 was the economic
climate with 38% of respondents globally citing this as one of the
major causes of stress. This was followed by pressure on cash flow
(26%) and competitor activities (21%). Gagik Gyulbudaghyan, Managing
Partner of Grant Thornton Armenia, comments, "In Armenia business
owners feel pressures from different sides: economic climate changes
(crisis) of 27%, heavy workload (19%), competitor activities (17%) and
pressure on cash flow (14%) are the major obstacles Armenian businesses
see in their day-to-day business management. The statistics is really
very illustrative, and fairly presents the worries that our business
owners have. It is worth mentioning that after pressure coming from
economic crisis (which is common for all countries). Armenian business
owners think, that heavy workload is the second major factor adding
stress into their daily management."
The survey also found a correlation between stress levels and the
number of days off taken by an individual in a year. Countries at the
top of the stress league are those, where business owners, on average,
take fewer holidays each year. Armenia, for example, has an increase of
58% over the last year in stress level and is in the middle of the
holiday league, with business owners on average taking 15 days of
holiday during the year, which is more than the global average of 14
days.
Gagik Gyulbudaghyan notes, "Here we see vivid evidence, which shows
that the stress level is in direct correlation with number of vacation
days taken during the year. It proves that taking the time to step away
from the business and to get into a different atmosphere, eases the
stress in business and allows seeing new opportunities in decision
making."
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