UK business leaders lose 7,052,100 nights' sleep every year through work worries
8 July 2005
Capgemini Red Eye Report reveals personal performance and staffing issues are driving executive stress
A quarter of the UK’s senior business leaders are kept awake for at least one night a week because of work worries, the Capgemini Red Eye Report reveals. These sleepless nights are symptomatic of a general wave of uncertainty and anxiety among UK’s business leaders, 63% of whom have been kept awake worrying about their career or future.
The first ever Capgemini Red Eye Report, commissioned by leading provider of consulting, technology and outsourcing services Capgemini, surveyed 200 senior executives to uncover the problems keeping them awake and to gauge their opinions on a range of current business issues. The results worryingly reveal a wave of concern among the UK’s business elite, who are anxious about job prospects and the increasingly demanding performance targets they are subject to.
The Big Sleep …… Or Not
The majority of executives (55%) agree that lack of sleep has a serious impact on their abilities at work. Decision making is one of the key ‘business brain’ faculties to suffer through lack of sleep. Forty five per cent of respondents agreed their decision-making ability was seriously hampered by lack of sleep, whilst a staggering one in five (18%) admitted it had caused them to make a decision with serious repercussions for the business.
The true cost of these failed decisions was revealed last year in the Capgemini Business Decisiveness Report, which explored business decision making and addressed the cost to business of bad decisions. The report revealed a self-reported decision ‘failure rate’ of 24% among senior execs, with a cost to business of £160,267 per business critical decision.
This time it’s personal
So what’s causing this epidemic of stress and anxiety? When asked to rate ‘personal’ and ‘business’ insomnia factors, it was striking that personal stresses such as making an individual tough decision, a looming deadline or career choice massively outweighed wider business concerns such as staff shortages and financial performance.
Two out of three senior execs (63%) said they had been kept awake worrying about their ‘career/future’, whilst a third of those questioned (35%) admitted that if they could start all over again, they would choose a different career.
Management issues create greatest stress
When asked to cite the biggest business issue currently playing on their mind, the majority of executives named ‘internal’ business issues such as ‘change/strategy’, ‘time and workload management’ and ‘project issues’, rather than external factors such as the ‘economy’ or ‘legislation’. This would suggest that when it comes to stress, management issues are the primary culprits.
It’s no coincidence then, that ‘staff performance or shortage’ was identified as having the highest worry factor of a number of business issues and that 69% of respondents perceive this issue as a current threat to their business.
“In order for a UK business to succeed in a global market, where production and labour costs are often cheaper overseas, it needs to distinguish itself through innovation, creativity and intelligent business practice, explains Ian Jordan, Capgemini UK and Ireland’s Head of Consulting Services.
“But in the existing long-hours, high-stress culture of British business, it’s clear that senior executives spend most of their time grappling with company politics, staffing issues and poor organisation, to the extent which they find themselves unable to operate effectively.
“To create the ‘head space’ their senior managers require, UK companies need to address internal structures and cut through the levels of complexity. This can be done by focusing on leadership development, managing change in a proactive way, and by addressing the technology systems and processes used to manage information through the organisation.”
UK Business’ opinion on current issues
As a second part of the Red Eye Report, Capgemini polled business leaders on range of economical, social, international and work/pay issues in order to gauge their views and opinions and uncover their current ‘bêtes noirs’.
The research revealed that UK business is very much opposed to increased regulation and compliance, is in favour of increased global trade with markets such as India and China and is opposed to government interference on work/life balance issues, but in favour of options such as home and mobile working. (Full results are listed below)*
Commenting on UK business leaders’ positive response to increased globalization and the possibilities afforded by burgeoning global markets, Ian Jordan comments; “In the last few years many UK companies have reaped the financial rewards of off-shoring their information technology and other services, with India having been the big winner in terms of picking up these contracts.”
“Despite the early cost-savings afforded by off-shoring, businesses are now starting to see those margins erode and their risks increase. Cost competitive off-shoring to one market has built in additional risk into their business which has not been effectively managed. What are their ‘disaster recovery contingency plans’?
“In the current climate, we’d advise companies to opt for off-shoring services but through a more geographically diverse base of suppliers. This way, they can remain flexible in the face of any issue, whether they be geo/political, monopoly pricing, cost spiralling or communication for example.”
- Ends -
*Respondents were asked to rate the following issues as good, neutral or bad for business:Economical/International trade issues
-
Economical/International trade issues
If the pound strengthens against your key trading currency
Bad - 35%
Neutral - 44%
Good - 21%If pound weakens against your key trading currency
Bad - 21%
Neutral - 50%
Good - 28%Expansion of the EU
Bad - 16%
Neutral - 51%
Good - 33%Emerging economy in India
Bad - 12%
Neutral - 41%
Good - 47%Emerging economy in China
Bad - 14%
Neutral - 33%
Good - 53%
-
Compliance and regulation
Increase in regulation/compliance
Bad - 71%
Neutral - 19%
Good - 10%Extension of compliance deadlines e.g. Sarbanes-Oxley
Bad - 21%
Neutral - 50%
Good - 28%
- Work/Pay issues
Introduction of legislation on family-friendly working
Bad - 32%
Neutral - 50%
Good - 19%Minimum wage increase
Bad - 24% Neutral - 68%
Good - 8%Pension reform
Bad - 18%
Neutral - 49%
Good - 33%Mobile/home-working
Bad - 4%
Neutral - 41%
Good - 55%
- Social/environmental issues
GCSE/A-level system remaining in tact
Bad - 12%
Neutral - 69%
Good - 19%Further environmental legislation - targets on carbon emissions etc
Bad - 26%
Neutral - 57%
Good - 17%Increases and extensions in congestion charging/ or transport problems
Bad - 49%
Neutral - 46%
Good - 5%
Methodology
The first ever Capgemini Red Eye Report, commissioned by leading provider of consulting, technology and outsourcing services Capgemini, surveyed senior executives to uncover the issues keeping the UK’s business elite awake at night.
The research was conducted on behalf of Capgemini by business research specialists Vanson Bourne. A total of 200 respondents were interviewed representing organisations reporting a minimum annual revenue of £1bn. All respondents were head of function (director-level) or divisional heads/ general managers.
For further information, please contact:
Sarah Wilkinson/Emma Fanshawe/Alex Smiddy - the red consultancy
Tel: 020 7025 6508/6559/6533
Email: sarah.wilkinson@redconsultancy.com / emma.fanshawe@redconsultancy.com / alex.smiddy@redconsultancy.com
About Capgemini
Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost providers of Consulting, Technology and
Outsourcing services, has a unique way of working with its clients which it calls
the Collaborative Business Experience. Through commitment to mutual success and
the achievement of tangible value, the company helps businesses implement growth
strategies, leverage technology, and thrive through the power of collaboration.
Capgemini employs approximately 60,000 people and reported 2003 global revenues
of 5.754 billion euros.
More information about individual service lines, offices and research is available
at http://www.capgemini.com/
