Employers in New Zealand have a legal obligation to do all they can to avoid workplace stress causing physical or mental harm to a worker. The recent Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Bill 2001 reinforced the inclusion of stress as a hazard in the workplace. A 2003 survey found that nearly a third of NZ businesses were not aware of, or were yet to respond to the new legislation (July 3003 TMP/Hudson Job Index Survey).

All employers must actively take steps to protect themselves from being at risk from claims arising from stress in the workplace. They must establish procedures and know how to deal correctly with situations as they arise. According to the Labour Department's 2003 Occupational Safety and Health Service guidelines: "The process for managing significant hazards is based on the ergonomic principle that the workplace should be modified to suit people, not vice-versa."

'Male' Health Problems

Traditionally, there have been a number of health problems that have significantly affected males more than females. One theory is that these particular stresses evolved through the added responsibility that males took on in the work-force, for example, in becoming a senior executive. In the past the senior executive area was male dominated and it reflected a masculine (macho) decision-making process. Some of the relevant statistics include:

• men are 4 times more likely to commit suicide than women
• 80% of pathological gamblers are men
• 77% of alcohol consumed with subsequent problems are men
• smoking causes 30% of all male deaths
• men are twice as likely to die in a motor-vehicle accident
• men are 8% more likely than women to die of cancer
• men have a life expectancy 6 years less than women
• 94% of deaths in the workplace are male
• male rates for workplace injuries are 3 to 5 times higher than that of women
• men are 40% more prone to hypertension than women

Women now also affected by stress

Recent research suggests that as women are achieving more seniority in the workplace they are becoming increasingly prone to male orientated difficulties. Female senior executives are strongly affected by the conflict of combining work and home pressures. Given the historical experience of the "glass ceiling" there is often an added pressure to be at least equal to (or out-perform) male executives once seniority is achieved. A final pressure for these women is the need to bring a more "process orientated" style to management, for example, in acknowledging people's feelings while balancing this with practical factors.

Executive Health Considerations

Interviews with General Practitioners who see senior executives, suggests a clinical pattern that confirms the above. A typical senior executive is likely, in their opinion, to have an increased alcohol consumption over the 1 to 2 glasses of wine per day recommended as a maximum. This figure is sometimes higher if there is a high pressure for travel or business lunches. Senior executives who smoke have a great deal of difficulty stopping the habit because of the ongoing stresses. There is a tendency to carry extra weight through lack of appropriate exercise. Exercise levels generally within this group are seen to be decreased. The results of the above are a tendency for hypertension to be a focus of the senior executive experience for both males and females.

More subtle stresses are also reported. There can be an increased irritability and strain in family relationships, both with the spouse and with children. Stress levels are also indicated in the decreased immunity, for example, a proneness towards the flu, as the immune system has become compromised. When the above is combined with increases in sugar intake and caffeine, a low-fibre diet and skipped meals, there can be a pre-disposition towards the formation of conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and increased risk of heart attacks.

Clinical experience from a stress perspective also suggests that senior executives work long hours and tend at times to blur boundaries between home and work. A particular communication style can be adopted that is very successful in the work environment, i.e. quite matter of fact, decisive and directing, but unfortunately considerable difficulties are created when this style of communication is taken home.