Stress Levels Aren’t Rising in America Like They Are Overseas

American business owners say they’re more stressed out than a year ago. But their counterparts are much more likely to indicate that their stress levels have either increased or increased significantly over the past year.

The Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey queried more than 6,300 owners of medium-sized businesses from 24 countries during fall 2004. Many respondents say a major source of stress is the lack of leisure time and not having enough time to spend with friends and family.

In some countries, stress levels are rising and so is economic growth, and the pressure’s being caused by the effort necessary to keep up with customer expectations and tough competition. This group includes business owners in India, South Africa and Russia.

In other places, including Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Mexico and Turkey, the economies are not as hot. In addition to the stress of competition, business owners in these countries are worried about the economy and pressure on cash flow and profits.

Countries or regions ranked by the percentage of respondents who indicate that their stress levels have increased or increased significantly over the past year:

1. Taiwan: 69%
2. Hong Kong: 54
3. Mexico: 54
4. Turkey: 54
5. India: 53
6. Philippines: 53
7. Japan: 51
8. Russia: 51
9. South Africa: 50
10. Singapore: 46
11. Ireland: 41
12. Greece: 39
13. Poland: 39
14. Germany: 37
15. Spain: 37
16. France: 36
17. Australia: 34
18. United States: 34
19. United Kingdom: 33
20. New Zealand: 32
21. Italy: 30
22. Canada: 26
23. Netherlands: 25
24. Sweden: 23