In the Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey 2006 over 7000 owners in 30 countries were interviewed on a wide range of issues covering their perception of economic prospects, business performance, constraints to growth, the global market, and their relationship with China. One special report was Focus on Stress. The owners indicated that 57% of them felt higher stress in 2005 than in 2004, when 30% reported higher stress. Only 6% said that stress levels had gone down.

For the second year, Taiwan reported the highest level of success with an astonishing 90% of the owners saying that stress had significantly increased. China, the Philippines, Botswana, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Africa were close behind, all of these being high growth economies.

The least stressed owners were from Europe and the U.S.; in Sweden only 24% of owners felt more stress than before.

Stress levels are caused by many factors. Previous Grant Thornton studies examined correlations to the economic environment, competition, cash flow, and increasing customer expectations. This study examined the influence of turnover, job security, the number of holidays taken, and business travel.

High Turnover Growth Leads To High Stress

High turnover growth would seem to cause high stress. And high turnover nations such as China, Hong Kong, and India did in fact have high levels of stress increase. However, countries such as the U.S., U.K. and Sweden also had high turnover growth without corresponding high increases in stress. The stress levels of China, Hong Kong, etc. may have more to do with their very high economic growth rates that increase demands and expectations.

Be constantly networking and connecting to people, fishing for talent.

For owners, it will be imperative to constantly have your “line in the water” fishing for new talent. Be constantly networking and connecting to people, fishing for talent. It is your only way of bringing in new people when others depart, but it may also lead you to talent that you didn’t know you needed until you met that person. Understand that the high mobility of the workforce is here to stay, so accept it and build organizational disciplines to deal with it. But also understand that you may have something to do with the turnover. Studies have shown that people seldom leave companies, but rather bad bosses. And think about other factors affecting retention such as lack of opportunity internally, poor developmental opportunities, and absence of mentors, to name a few.

Concerns about Job Security

Dynamic, expanding economies like Thailand and India showed the most fear about job security. Japan was also close but the reason seems to be that after 15 years of poor economic performance, business leaders are beginning to feel uncertainty about their jobs. The U.S. was among nations demonstrating the least concern.

Job security is a thing of the past. You just can’t count on it and build your life and hopes around it.

Job security is a thing of the past. You just can’t count on it and build your life and hopes around it. There are at least two things that you can do about this. The first is to be constantly building and maintaining relationships in and out of your company and industry. Don’t burn bridges when you leave a firm. Those relationships may open future doors. People tend to hire people they know and value from previous experience. The second is to be a passionate learner and self developer. No one else is going to own your personal and professional development. Assume that the shelf life of your expertise is three years. That means that in order to be employable, you have to upgrade your ability to deliver marketplace value constantly. Too busy to learn? That excuse will soon have you unable to earn.

Do Vacations Lead To Lower Stress?

Excluding public holidays, owners were asked how many holiday/vacation days they took. There were significant differences between Europe and the rest of the world. The French led the way with 27 days taken. The global average was 15 days. The U.S. came in at 14. Taiwan and Thailand were at the bottom with 8 and 4 days respectively.

Value for your company is created by your people. Don’t let them burn out.

What is not clear from this question is whether the owners were less stressed because they took more time off or whether they took more time off because they were less stressed.

For the business leader, it is important to consider Proverbs 27:23-24 (New International Version):

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.

Value for your company is created by your people, your flock. Be sure you pay careful attention to their condition. Protect them. Refresh them. Encourage them. Don’t let them burn out.

Business Travel

Globally, 14% of owners said that business travel contributed to stress. Nowhere was this felt more than in India where 41% said that travel contributed to stress. The high stress countries seem to be characterized by more time consuming, less comfortable travel within less developed travel infrastructures. Distance traveled to world markets doesn’t seem to be a factor as countries such as Australia and New Zealand factored low on the stress scale.

Don’t send people from one high stress project into the next one without some recuperation time.

For the business leader, again, pay attention to the demands that you place on people. Help them to maintain boundaries in their lives that support sound personal priorities. Insist that people take their time off. Don’t send people from one high stress project into the next one without some recuperation time. Business travel is getting more miserable by the day. Make sure your road warriors live off of priorities, not the adrenalin of being always on the go.

The factors causing stress are many. These stress factors are here to stay and we will need to develop personal physical, mental, emotional, and emotional habits to deal with the stress.

The spiritual dimension is a key to responding to stress. Take time to memorize and reflect on the following.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 4:6-7, New International Version

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
— I Peter 5:7, New International Version

And finally:

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
— Isaiah 40: 28-31, New International Version