Business owners all over the world are much more stressed than they were a year back, with Taiwan topping the stress chart followed by Hong Kong, Turkey, Mexico and India, according to a recent survey.
The Grant Thornton International Owners Survey conducted with 6,300 business owners in 24 countries showed that stress levels had rocketed by more than a third in 2004.
Topping the stress table were business owners in Taiwan where a staggering 69 per cent (more than two out of three) of those questioned, said their stress levels had increased or increased significantly in just one year, according to a release by Grant Thornton International, a network of global consultancy firms.
They were followed by Hong Kong (54%), Turkey (54%), Mexico (54%), India (53%), the Philippines (53%), Japan (51%), Russia (51%) and South Africa (50%) where half or more of those questioned said their stress levels had gone up.
However, those least affected were in Sweden (23%) Netherlands (25%) and Canada (26%).
The 'high growth high stress increase' countries were those whose business and economies were booming. This group includes business owners in India, South Africa and Russia, all fast-expanding, emerging economies.
About 53 per cent of those surveyed attributed their stress to increased competition, while 48 per cent are stressed by customer expectations.
The 'low growth, high stress increase countries' are those where the increase in turnover has been slower than average and their economies were struggling.
The stressed business owners typically are in East Asian countries like Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines but can also be found in Mexico and Turkey.
Key contributors to their stress level are increased competition (61 per cent), concern about the economy (53 per cent) and pressure on cash flows and profit (46 per cent).
Business owners in 'high growth, low stress increase' category have the best of both worlds. Their performance has boomed over the last three years, but they seem to know how to cope with success without becoming too stressed by it.
Such businessmen can be found in the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand where is pressure on cash flow and profits and more demanding customer expectations makes them stressed.
A small number of countries have experienced low growth in recent years but do not get themselves too stressed by it.
These 'low growth, low stress increase' owners are in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden, who take a pragmatic approach to life. The leading stress factors are regulation and red tape (41%) for these owners.
There is also a middle group of business owners who have been doing pretty well, and are moderately stressed.
These 'average growth, average stress increase' countries are all in Europe and do not face the same levels of increase in stress as countries where growth has been dramatically high or very, very low.
This category includes France, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The main contributor to their stress levels was regulation or red tape (40 per cent).
Despite the business differences, however, two things unite business owners all over the world as contributors to their stress levels. A third of respondents in every category claim they are stressed by not having enough leisure time and not having enough time to spend with friends and family.