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ASCI JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT 33(1&2), 56-62Copyright 2004 Administrative Staff College of India.

P.H. RAO1

________

Indicators of Executive Health in India______________________________________________________________________

This paper presents the results of an executive health survey conducted by the author among participants attendingmanagement development programs at the Administrative Staff College of India during 2001-02. The study finds that overtwo-third of the respondents have one or more health problems. Lifestyle as well as organizational factors contribute toexecutive health problems. All levels in the organizational hierarchy have health related problems. ______________________________________________________________________

Good health is good business because human resources happen to be a vital organizational asset. The quality ofhuman resource is a key driver of organizational development and progress. Healthy employees are not only moreproductive, but employee health has also implications on other factors. Healthy employees save money fororganizations by way of lower absenteeism and minimal medical bills.

The demands on todays executive due to increasing competition, cost controls, quality consciousness, andaccountability are enormous. These ever-increasing demands bring about a host of lifestyle changes and increasestress. The net result is that the health of the executive suffers, which, in turn, adversely affects the organizationsperformance. However, the data on executive health and its wide-ranging implications on organizationalperformance is rather scarce and fragmented in India. It is for this reason that surveys on executive health need tobe conducted regularly.

A survey on executive health was conducted on a representative sample of 275 participants who came from allover the country to attend over 150 management development programs for senior and middle level executivesfrom industry and government as well as non-government organizations at the Administrative Staff College ofIndia in 2001-2002. The objectives of the study were to identify and assess the impact of critical factors that havea bearing on executive health. These include:

Lifestyles and habits Stress levels Common health problems Preventive measures adopted, and Facilities at the workplace.

Respondent Profile

90 percent of the sample respondents were male. 55.5 percent were postgraduates and about 10 percent helddoctoral degrees. The age-wise distribution of the sample is as follows: up to 30 years (8.2 percent), 3140 years(31.2 percent), 4150 years (37.5 percent), and 51 years and above (23.1 percent).

56 percent of the participants represented the government segment (central and state governments, public sectorundertakings, joint sector organizations, etc.); about 35 percent from private sector and the rest from othersegments. 83 percent had more than 10 years of work experience. 53 percent were at senior levels oforganizational hierarchies, 38.6 percent at the middle level and the remaining 8.4 percent at the junior level.

** Dr. P.H. Rao is Senior Member of Faculty, Health & Social Care Area, Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad (phrao@asci.org.in).

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Lifestyle and Habits

Data on lifestyle collected in the study covered: hours of sitting at job during the working day, outstation travel,business lunches, consumption of tobacco and alcohol, food habits and modes of relaxation. The followingresponses are significant:

About 44 percent of the respondents sit for seven or more hours during a working day. About 78 per cent undertake outstation travel. About 75 per cent go out for business lunches. About 27 per cent smoke. Almost half of them smoke one packet or more of cigarettes per day. 47.6 percent consume alcohol in one form or the other. Among them, about 69 per cent take hard drinks like whiskey

and rum and the rest beer or wine. About 51 per cent who consume hard drinks do so once or twice a week. About 70 per cent eat non-vegetarian food. About 89 per cent spend some time for relaxation. The common modes of relaxation are watching TV followed by

reading newspapers/magazines, listening to music and meditation. Relatively fewer mentioned outdoor activities likeplaying games, walking and going to places on vacation.

Levels of Stress

Based on responses, the stress profile of the sample represented on a five-point scale is as follows: very high (1.3percent), high (6.0%), moderate (44.8 percent), somewhat (36.3 percent) and not at all (11.6 percent).

Comparatively higher proportion of males, those in the age group 55 and above, and working in centralgovernment or public sector undertakings rated their stress level as high or very high. The level of stress increasesas the executives level in the hierarchy goes up. The proportion of smokers is comparatively higher amongexecutives with very high/high stress levels (16.7 percent) to moderate level stress (16.3 percent) than those withsomewhat or not at all (11.1 percent).

Health Problems

About 68 percent of the respondents mentioned that they have one or more health problems bothering them formore than the past three months. Among them, 56 percent reported two or three health problems. The top tenhealth problems afflicting Indian executives are as follows (Table-1):

Table-1Ten major executive health problems

Rank Health problem Facedby Rank Health problemFaced

by

1 High blood pressure/Hypertension 23.0% 6 Body aches/pain 8.0%

2 Acidity and other gastricproblems 22.5% 7 Blood sugar/Diabetes 8.0%

3 Backache 14.4% 8 Knee/ joint pain 5.3% 4 Excess weight /Obesity 13.9% 9 Neck pain/Spondilitis 4.8%

5 Headache/Migraine 9.1% 10 Throat/Nasalprob-lems/Sinusitis 4.8%

Note: Based on the number of people with at least one health problem.

The chronic nature (more than three months) of health problems is an indirect indication of the expenditure ontreatment. In case of about two-thirds of the respondents, the health problems are more than two years old. Thedifference in the occurrence of the top ten diseases among males and females is only marginal. Age-group wiseanalysis of top six diseases reveals an alarming rate of 32 per cent with backache and 27 percent with high blood

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pressure among executives below 30 years. Almost one-quarter people in the age group 31-35 have high bloodpressure and acidity.

Hierarchy Level Wise Differences

High blood pressure is prevalent at all levels, the proportion being the highest (23.8 percent) at the junior level. Atthe middle level, acidity has the highest proportion. The details are as follows (Table-2):

Table-2Hierarchical level and health problems

Disease Hierarchical levelJunior Middle SeniorBackache 19.0% 13.5% 3.8%Obesity 0.0% 12.5% 7.6%High blood pressure 23.8% 12.5% 17.4%Acidity 19.0% 16.7% 9.8%Migraine 4.8% 7.3% 5.3%Diabetes 0.0% 2.1% 2.3%

Lifestyle and health problems

People eating non-vegetarian food have higher incidence of acidity/gastric problems (15.5 percent) compared withothers (10.9 percent). About 27 percent of those who reported obesity also had high blood pressure orhypertension. Significant indicators of stress and health problems are as follows:

Prevalence of acidity at 15.3 percent is higher among somewhat/not at all stress level respondent groups whencompared with the overall rate of 12.5 percent.

Prevalence of obesity among very high/high stress level respondent groups is almost double (16.7 percent) against anoverall rate of 8.4 percent.

Prevalence of blood pressure is comparatively similar among all stress level respondent groups (a little over 15percent).

Prevalence of diabetes is comparatively higher among those with moderate stress level of 8.2 percent when comparedwith an overall rate of 5.5 percent.

Prevalence of backache is comparatively similar among all stress level respondents (8 percent).

Preventive Measures

Information on health check up, exercise habits, practice of yoga and meditation was collected under preventivemeasures. About 64 percent of the respondents reported that they had a health check up done during the last twoyears. Among them, about 62 percent reported that their employer arranged for the health check up. There is nogender related difference in the proportion of persons undergoing health check up. An age group wise analysis indicated that comparatively lower proportion of the respondents among younger andolder groups underwent health check up. A comparatively higher proportion of respondents working in centralgovernment organizations and private organizations (73 percent) underwent health check up than those working inother types of organizations (3350 percent).

Only about half of the respondents mentioned that they exercise regularly. The duration of exercise ranges from 1590 minutes. Among those who exercise, about 40 per cent spend 1530 minutes and about 33 per cent spend 3060 minutes. The morning walk (53 percent) is the most popular form of exercise followed by yoga (15 percent),weights (11 percent) and back bending (10 percent). An equal proportion (about 50 per cent) of both male andfemale respondents exercised. Comparatively, people below 40 years exercise less (3545 percent) than thoseabove 40 years (5157 percent). Only 23 percent mentioned that they practice yoga and/or meditation.

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Facilities for exercise, yoga and mediation at the workplace are available to about 520 percent of the respondents.Such facilities are comparatively more available to those working in non-government organizations. A higherproportion of respondents have facilities for exercise (17.1 percent) at the workplace compared to yoga andmeditation (8.8 percent).

Conclusions

The survey on executive health conducted on a representative sample of 275 participants attending various coursesat the Administrative Staff College of India during 2001-02 points to the fact that that executive health ought to bea major area of organizational concern if it is already not one. Over two-third of the respondents admitted that theyhave one or more health problems that have been bothering them for more than three months. Among them, overhalf of them reported two or three health problems. As such, two-third of the respondents had a health check updone in the last two years.

Hypertension, gastric problems, backache and obesity are the major areas of concern. Those at senior and juniorlevels in the organizational hierarchy appear to be more hypertensive than those at the middle level but that is notconsolation enough. Junior and middle level executives suffer more from gastric and postural (backache)problems than their seniors. Obesity is dominant in the middle management level.

Lifestyle contributes in no mean measure to executive health problems. Over two-third of the respondents takenon-vegetarian food, go out for business lunches and undertake outstation travel; a little less than half sit for sevenor more hours during a working day and consume alcohol in one form or the other; over one-fourth smoke. Onlyhalf of the respondents said that they exercise regularly. Of this, over one-third spend between 15-30 minutes andone-third 30-60 minutes on exercise. The stress profile of the sample is not alarming but stress does contribute tohealth problems. Stress levels increase as the levels of the hierarchy are scaled.

It does appear that organizational concern for executive health is on the increase. A majority of respondents whohad a health check up done in, had this check up funded by their respective organizations. There are indications oforganizationally provided facilities for exercise, yoga and mediation at the workplace gradually emerging. Ifworkspaces are ergonomically designed, then posture related problems seen in back, neck, knee and otherproblems like headache/sinusitis can be minimized. Likewise, office canteens, where employees have one or twomeals a day, could serve healthy, nutritious and easily digestible food and to an extent gastric problems andobesity can be controlled.

Studies of executive health in Indian organizations are few in India. There is no doubt that such studies mustincrease. Even the few studies that are presently available do point to the fact that employee health is a criticaldeterminant in organizational competitiveness and success. Greater insights are possible when executive health iscorrelated with other organizational factors. _______________________________________________________________References:

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Rao Indicators of executive health in India