Executives Have Lower Quality of Life than the Terminally Ill
According to this report in an Irish newspaper, Professor Ciaran O’Boyle of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RSCI), speaking at the third annual Occupational Health & Safety Summit at the Irish Management Institute in Dublin recently, people are starting to question the definition of success.
Dr. O'Boyle pointed to a survey published by the RCSI in March 2006 which asked people to rate their personal quality of life. The results found that senior management gave themselves a lower ranking than seriously—even terminally—ill patients had done. ‘‘There has to be something wrong in the workplace,” he said. "We are certainly better off economically, but are we personally? I don’t think so.”
Dr. O'Boyle pointed to a survey published by the RCSI in March 2006 which asked people to rate their personal quality of life. The results found that senior management gave themselves a lower ranking than seriously—even terminally—ill patients had done. ‘‘There has to be something wrong in the workplace,” he said. "We are certainly better off economically, but are we personally? I don’t think so.”
4 Comments:
Interesting thoughts. This is the danger of working at a company where the only ladder is the management ladder. The problem with the management ladder is the question of how high is high enough? If you define success as being on the top rung, then when you don't make it to CEO level you are a failure; and when you do make it, you find your quality of life compared to that of the terminally ill...wow.
I hope to see more people define success and satisfaction with what they are good at and what they enjoy doing.
As always, thanks for the well thought out, inspiring blog posts. Keep up the good work!
-ewH
Thanks, Ed. I agree with you about the problems of defining success purely in hierarchical terms. It's the cause of much unhappiness.
Keep reading, my friend.
a quote of from booker t washington seems to be rather appropriate :
“Success is not to be measured by the position someone has reached in life, but the obstacles he has overcome while trying to succeed.”
Booker T. Washington
Well, maybe . . .
I'm not sure there are any better definitions for success than doing what YOU want to do, and doing it well. Logically, overcoming obstacles doesn't seem to me to add anything to the value of what you have achieved.
Still, thanks for your comment, Jason, as always. You make me think—which is what I choose to do whenever I can.
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