Stressed-out executives need to be monitored

Sideline that multimillion pound, overseas contract or the first draft of that lucrative takeover bid. These days one of the documents most desired by senior and middle management is a scrupulously clean bill of health.

Increasingly, the corporate sector is waking up to the value of investing in the physical and mental well-being of staff members who in boom-time, experts say, are under more pressure to perform than ever before.

"What is happening is that the top and midlevel executives and managers are increasing the hours they work and with the advent of lap-top computers and mobile phones in some cases are never really switching off," said Ms Ruth Handy, a senior specialist with the Irish Management Institute (IMI).

The organisation runs programmes on stress management and gives health-care advice to members. "Obviously, health becomes more of an issue when men and women get older and are in positions of increasing responsibility within their organisations," she said.

Their health is deemed important enough for more and more companies to insist that the top brass undergo annual executive check-ups at places like the Blackrock or Charlemont Clinics in Dublin. The one recommended by the IMI to its members is run by Irish Health Care at the Blackrock Clinic.

A spokeswoman for Irish Health Care said its screening programme, while geared towards the corporate sector, had been availed of by a growing number of private individuals in recent years. "The health screening is aimed at people with busy lives. . . they come in for a few hours annually and get all the necessary checks done," she said.

Included in the standard check-up which costs £260 (€330) is a psychological profile where clients can unburden themselves of problems which are troubling them at work or in the home. In addition to the usual X-rays, cholesterol and blood pressure checks, patients can avail of a stress electrocardiograph for an extra £85. This involves a spell on the treadmill to examine how the heart performs under pressure.

Suffering from executive stress, it seems, is no longer a sign of weakness and has become less of a taboo subject. Senior and middle managers are just as likely to be found engaging in alternative, stress-busting methods such as acupuncture, yoga or Ki Massage as they are keeping fit in the gym. The methods of tackling stress-related health problems such as insomnia, irritability and emotional difficulties may have changed, but the root causes of the problems are largely the same.

According to Kevin O'Boyle, a professor of psychology at the Royal College of Surgeons, these include sometimes unrealistic demands from a variety of sources within a company, the constant need for change in a vibrant modern organisation and poor communication or conflict resolution skills. He is a firm advocate of employee-assistance programmes which can provide services such as counselling for employees.

"Companies must start being concerned with the double bottom line, this means taking care of the financial one, but also the human one too," he says.

Finding a balance between a busy executive's working and non-working life can be crucial to their health according to Prof Anthony Clare, medical director at Dublin's St Patrick's Hospital.

"They have to examine their value systems and look at whether they are taking genuine time out from work, and I don't mean a few rounds of executive golf, but time spent on alternative activities such as personal hobbies or family breaks," he says.

It is fortunate, he says, that we are not taken in here by "the transatlantic hype about working all the hours God sends. . . but there should be more emphasis on time out. One of the reasons behind the glass ceiling is that women refuse to take on that ludicrous and completely unnecessary work profile," he says. Unfortunately, he adds, there is more lip service paid to these matters by some Irish companies than genuine commitment.

Mr Eamon Donnelly of the benefit consultancy L&P Financial Trustees explains that the longevity of senior staff is a serious financial issue for companies.

Key man or more appropriately in these PC times key person cover is taken out by companies "not just for the individual's benefit but for the benefit of the company, in order to mitigate against the losses that are incurred after a key executive dies".

The losses are even greater, he says, if the person who has died is perceived publicly as being crucial to the success of a company in which case the share value can take a dive. Other costs include the expensive process of luring a suitable replacement from his or her company. Individuals themselves will often top up this life cover with a critical illness policy, ensuring a lump sum should they suddenly be unable to work due to poor health.

For those who still have their health and want to find out how to preserve it, employers' body IBEC is running a stress management course today that will be attended by representatives from 16 companies. Ms Jenny Hayes, head of training with IBEC, says that developing time management, delegation and other personal skills can considerably reduce the pressures on senior staff.

Many observers are quick to point out that not all workplace pressures are negative, saying that there is such a thing as a healthy stress level. One suggested that too much can sometimes be made of the issue: "If you want to see real stress look at Kosovo," he said.

Prof Clare jokes that there can even be a certain amount of kudos attached to stress adding that those in demanding professions including doctors, business executives and lawyers do not want to be told they are stressfree: "Tell them they are psychologically unstable and they won't like it, but tell them they are over-stressed and they positively purr," he says.