What Causes Managers Stress?

Nearly half of the managers interviewed by the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, say job stresses in today's global business environment have increased. The four biggest causes: new technology that has speeded the innovation cycle and placed all operations in a real-time world; a borderless market with new competitions that are not just miles away, but a mouse click away; global investors that pigeonhole companies based on their ability to have a minimum return-on-equity of 15%--the U.S. benchmark; and educated customers that are driving prices down and who expect speedy, flawless execution of their orders.