Overseas business leaders 'more stressed'

News Article - 04 June 2007
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Business leaders in the UK are less stressed than their counterparts in countries such as China, India and Taiwan, a study has shown.

Research by Grant Thornton found that 37 per cent of British bosses feel more stressed now than they did a year ago, compared with the global average of 56 per cent.

In addition, stress levels in the UK were shown to have fallen by six per cent compared with the previous year.

Some 84 per cent of business owners in China said that they felt more stressed at the moment, while 82 per cent of Taiwanese and 79 per cent of Indian professionals agreed.

Alysoun Stewart, head of Grant Thornton's strategic services group, said that while the slight decline in the UK's stress levels was encouraging, the information should be put into perspective.

"Stress is a multibillion pound drain on the UK economy each year," she said.

"To have 37 per cent of business owners reporting an increase in their stress levels is still a significant proportion and it signals that more work needs to be in done in promoting work-life balance in leadership circles."

Last year, the firm's survey showed that business stress doubled over the course of the year.

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