MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

India and Argentina business leaders have longest work week

Business leaders in India and Argentina work the longest hours, clocking up to 57 hours a week, according to a survey published this week, while Italians work the shortest week at 47 hours.

A survey by London-based accounting firm Grant Thornton International also found that more business people in mainland China, Taiwan and India said they experienced more stress at work this year than in the previous year. "Globalization and increasing technological advances have increased the pressure on business leaders to "always be contactable", said Kon Yin Tong, managing partner of Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton, the Singapore unit of the group. "The challenge for business leaders is how they can improve modern working practices to allow time to 'switch off' from the strains of increasingly demanding business lives while remaining competitive". Grant Thornton said that with strong economic growth across Asia, more business people in the region reported an increase in stress levels. The survey involved 7,200 respondents in 32 countries. The top countries with the longest workweek follows: India, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Botswana, Turkey, United States, South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong. The list of the ten countries where business leaders reported high stress levels: China, Taiwan, India, Russia, Botswana, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines and South Africa.