Bosses and Health

Found on Management Issues.com

"It's official. Britain's bosses really are fat cats. According to a new report, boardrooms are groaning under the weight of overweight, under-exercised and decidedly unhealthy executives.

A survey of 500 business leaders by catering firm Avenance has found that almost half – 47 per cent – are overweight.

More than half (55 per cent) admit that they do not take enough exercise and one in five say that they take no exercise at all."

This information is neatly aligned with research in the USA which shows that there is a stong correlation between lack of adequate sleep and being overweight as the article continues:

"More than a third (37 per cent) of those surveyed get less than six hours sleep a night while one in five work more than 55 hours a week."

The potential costs of keeping these people healthy and the potential cost to companies of their demise is huge! The risk to their own lives is exponentially greater than it would otherwise be.

So why is there no outcry about this?

The senior management can't complain - they are the victims. The unions don't complain, because these people are usually not among their members. Their partners usually DO complain, but are generally ignored.

Maybe it's all down to Will Shakespeare! After all, was he not the one who said, "Let me have men about me who are fat!."

Of course if these bosses really are unhealthy and suffering from sleep deprivation then one other thing becomes a lot clearer.

The decisions that they make now have an explanation.