Chief executive lifestyle stress

In the last ten years there has been some focus of attention on the pressures faced by chief executive officers and the consequences of failure to survive in a hard‐driving and highly competitive business world and international climate. Presents the results of a survey of 118 chief executives from The Times top 100 European companies and 93 of their partners, in order to understand more about their lifestyle and the stressors faced by this élite group. Comparisons are made with responses to a ten‐country survey concluded in 1984, in addition to comparisons made between chief executives based in Great Britain,“other” EEC countries and those working in Scandinavia. The results indicated that 25 per cent of chief executives believed that they were at risk from job burnout and this perception was strongest in Great Britain and among those aged 50 or less. Levels of anxiety and depression also tended to be higher for this younger group of chief executives. It is clear that these individuals are beginning to question the notion of “success at any cost” and acknowledge that quality of life must be an important consideration in their lifestyle.