MANILA, Philippines - More than half of Philippine business owners feel that their stress levels have increased over the last year, survey results released yesterday showed.

Fifty-five percent of 150 leaders in charge of unlisted Philippine firms said they were more stressed than a year ago, results from the Grant Thornton International Business Report survey conducted in the last quarter of 2009 showed.

The Philippine figure is similar to the global average: 56% of the 7,400 business owners surveyed across 36 economies likewise reported increased stress levels, the report stated.

No comparative figure for 2008 was provided, but for 2007 the Philippine result was 64% versus a global average of 56%. In 2006 it was 76% versus 57%.

"I think we can attribute this to the fact that Filipino business owners are now anticipaeting a rebound following the financial meltdown of 2008," Marivic C. Españo, managing partner of Grant Thornton’s Philippine member firm Punongbayan & Araullo, said in a statement.

"We’re seeing fewer stressed out business owners because they’ve realized the full extent of the economic crisis, and now they’re gearing up for recovery, if they haven’t already bounced back," Ms. Españo said.

Top sources of stress cited by Filipino respondents were heavy workloads, pressure on cash flows, and the economic climate.

Globally, the top three stressors were the economic climate, cash flow pressures, and competitor activities.

"It’s telling that while globally, the economic climate was cited as the top stressor, only 17% of Filipino business owners consider it a major cause of their workplace stress," Ms. Españo said.

"Again, this goes towards the idea that the economic slump did not hit us as hard as it did other countries, and that we are now on the road to recovery," she said.