for three consecutive nights; when he is
constantly having to reschedule
appointments; “and the third one is on the family side”, says Plumridge, the
father of a three-year-old daughter, and expecting a second child in October. “If I happen to miss a birthday
or anniversary, I know things are out of control.” Being “too busy” is highly subjective. But for any
individual, the perception of being too busy over a prolonged period can start showing up as stress: disturbed
sleep, and declining mental and physical health. National workers’ compensation figures show stress causes
the most lost time of any workplace injury. Employees suffering stress are off work an average of 16.6
weeks. The effects of stress are also expensive. Comcare, the Federal Government insurer, reports that in
2003-04, claims for psychological injury accounted for 7% of claims but almost 27% of claim costs. Experts
say the key to dealing with stress is not to focus on relief—a game of golf or a massage but to reassess
workloads. Neil Plumridge says he makes it a priority to work out what has to change; that might mean
allocating extra resources to a job, allowing more time or changing expectations. The decision may take
several days. He also relies on the advice of colleagues, saying his peers coach each other with business
problems. “Just a fresh pair of eyes over an issue can help,” he says.
C. Executive stress is not confined to big organisations. Vanessa Stoykov has
been running her own
advertising and public relations business for seven
years, specialising in work for financial and professional
services firms.
Evolution Media has grown so fast that it debuted on the BRW Fast 100 list
of fastest-
growing small enterprises last year—just after Stoykov had her first
