Not so fat cats

Despite the stereotype of a ‘fat cat’ board of directors, new research reveals that Britons’ bosses are in fact not the 'fat controllers' they are often portrayed to be. In fact they are likely to be taking the most exercise and to be the least likely to consider themselves overweight than any other working group.

At a time when sedentary work lives are being blamed for rising rates of obesity in the UK, the findings from Legal & General's Health Uncovered research reveals that senior management are, in fact, leading the way as the most health conscious in the workplace.

Being overweight is third in Britons list of top health concerns, at 39%, yet senior managers are 13% less likely than the average Brit to consider themselves overweight, 39% compared to 45%. The ‘Big cheeses’ are also nearly half as likely as their juniors to feel that they do not have time to follow a healthy diet, 9% compared to 16%.

All bosses, said that they know what they should be eating to stay healthy, and are more likely to say they do enough exercise to stay healthy than any other working group, 29% compared to 21%.

The Health Uncovered research is an ongoing study of Britons’ health concerns and perceptions by Legal & General's Group Protection business which questioned over 2,000 Britons, including 942 full time workers, about their health worries over the last three months. The results reveal how Britons’ lifestyles are affecting their health and wellbeing.

Despite following a healthier diet and being less concerned about their weight, senior management are still the most likely to feel generally stressed at work, 28% compared to 18% of non-managers and the most likely to worry that they smoke too much, 19%.
Although senior management are the most likely to say they work too many extra hours, 32% compared to 12% of people in junior roles, they are the least likely to worry that a lack of fresh air is impacting their health, 7% compared to 12% non-managerial staff.

Commenting on the research findings Dr John Delfosse, Company Medical Officer for Legal & General’s Group Protection business said: “Exercise and diet have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of employees. Different responsibilities at work entail different health risks. As this research shows, people in managerial roles are often more likely to suffer from symptoms of stress than their junior colleagues, but on the whole follow a healthier lifestyle.

“It would be great if company directors could help their employees by creating a healthier working environment. Not only does a healthy diet and regular exercise help to improve staff moral, it can also have a positive impact on productivity and reduce absenteeism.”

Diane Buckley, managing director of Legal & General’s Group Protection business, added: “The research would indicate that senior mangers are possibly taking advantage of benefits available to them in the workplace to ensure they have a healthy lifestyle. It would be great if those same managers were seen as an example to their staff by encouraging them to also exercise and follow a healthy diet. The Health Uncovered research is helping us to be more attuned to the health concerns of all British workers and we hope the findings will also improve the awareness of senior managers of their employees’ health and well-being. As a result we hope this will encourage more senior mangers to seriously consider supporting some of the various workplace initiatives that are now available that help employers, to help their employees have more healthy active lives.”
Diane continued: “Employers should be very concerned about their employees’ health given the impact staff sickness can have on the company balance sheet and bottom line. Over 164 million working days were lost in 2006, costing firms £13.4 billion according to the CBI’s annual absence and labour turnover survey 2007. This means that the total cost for staff absence for a business could be a staggering £800 per employee or more.

Taking preventative measures to improve the health of employees so they do not possibly suffer a long term illness and then providing rehabilitation support for those employees who do become long-term absent can pay dividends. This support has shown to improve the potential for employees to return to work and so to substantially help to contain staff absence costs for employers.”