In reading some research recently, the importance of the health of managerial and executive staff organisations really struck me. The research was related to the Quality of Working Life study which analysed responses from executive staff within Australia and the UK. Most strikingly, 50% of Australian managers believed their health was negatively affected by their long working hours. This is of obvious concern given the importance of these staff to their organisation. It definitely seems a little backwards,�the organisation is requiring so much from their managers that their managers health is deteriorating and thus their work performance is dropping as well.

The burden of long working hours on managers is not surprising, with the research quoting�91% of respondents worked more than their normal contract hours regularly. These long work hours in turn had a negative effect on various health factors, and over half the respondents felt that the excessive hours resulted in a lower decision-making ability while at work.

While monitoring work hours for managers is obviously a major strategy in addressing these issues, it is often difficult for managers to reduce their working hours simply due to the nature of their job roles. Therefore, the development of stress management strategies, health monitoring strategies, and the promotion of regular exercise to managers in a practical means to assist these important staff to improve their health, wellness and ultimately their job performance.