The scorching pace of growth in Indian companies seems to be no sweat for CEOs and managing directors.
In fact, Indian business leaders are the least stressed among their peers in the fastest growing economies of the world.
A study by Grant Thornton International, a global consulting service provider, shows that the stress level among Indian business leaders increased by 57 per cent over a year ago, same as the international average, but least among the developing economies. If it still sounds high, take heart.
In China, the stress among corporate heads increased by 87 per cent, in the Philippines, 76 per cent, and in Hong Kong, 69 per cent.
Does this mean that the Indian leader is actually not working that hard? Not really. The Indian business head was absent only for 13 days from office the whole of last year.
This may be a day more than what company heads in China or Hong Kong took but considerably lower than the 20-plus off days taken for holidaying by their counterparts in developed countries.
The number of holidays taken by executives, says the research, has a direct correlation with stress. A majority of business leaders in East Asia suffered from rise in stress last year, possibly as a result of poor holiday allowances, unlike those in the West.
But everything is not hunky-dory with the leaders of India Inc. Even with a boom in opportunities, job insecurity among them is the highest.
The study, which covers more than 7,000 business leaders across 30 countries, reveals that 48 per cent of Indian respondents say that the fear of job security is a high factor in increasing their stress.
The Indian fear quotient is just second to Japan and Thailand globally. Least stressed about job security are executives in Sweden (7 per cent), followed by the Netherlands, the UK and Singapore (9 per cent each).
