”One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.” In today's go-getting world, philosopher Bertrand Russell's quote must be incomprehensible to many. For those to whom work and careers matter, stress is not a symptom of an irrational belief, but the natural by-product of having a job.
That is one conclusion from this year's Grant Thornton International Business Report. More than half the 7,400 heads of private businesses surveyed feel more stressed than last year. Top of the list is China, with three-quarters of bosses feeling the heat. Also up there are Mexico and Vietnam. The link? The three economies are all expected to grow more than 4 per cent in 2010, yet their workers have fewer than 10 days off on average per year.
But it is not just those rolling-up their sleeves heading for a nervous breakdown. The Spanish and Greeks take plenty of holidays yet bosses there are increasingly touchy too. Obviously, these countries are suffering and across the survey the two main causes of stress were the economic climate and cash flows. Norway and Sweden fell into recession last year too yet their businesses report the lowest stress. Both top the table, however, in terms of days off.
Such surveys are not scientific. But there seems to be a correlation between stress and lack of holidays. More important, however, is whether a relationship exists between either and economic performance. The data is equivocal. On average Americans put in an extra two hours a week compared with UK workers. Yet both countries had almost identical crises, while lazier nations fared considerably better. Too much work and stress may be bad for individuals. What is good for nations, however, is harder to know for sure.