Davos Diary: Back home!

Tuesday, 31st January 2012, 6:59pm

Just back from Davos — and it took every bit of energy I could muster to do it justice. At every turn, there was a blizzard of choices: whether to go to another discussion about which countries will drive global growth this year, or meet up with that economics expert you slid past on the icy roads between the Congress Centre and the Belvedere hotel. More than exhausting, it’s extremely stressful.

That’s why I was drawn to a gathering all about how to prevent burnout in today’s always-on, always available world. Some of the suggestions didn't persuade me — switching your mobile off for longer and longer each day would just result in more stress, catching up, when you switch it on again, wouldn't it? — but it's certainly a problem worth thinking about. It’s been estimated that mental illness costs up to 3 to 4 per cent of European GDP. Little wonder that its treatment has been a running theme at this year's Forum.

‘Giving back to society’ was also a major topic of conversation at Davos this year. World Economic Forum Young Global Leader David Jones, the Global CEO of Havas Wordwide, said that the big development has been a recognition from business that capitalism itself really does need to change. If you want your company to do well in the future, he says, you will have to do good — it’s what customers and the wider public want. In his book Who Cares Wins he says we are entering the ‘age of damage’ where if, as a CEO of a company or the leader of a country, you don’t behave in the right way, people now have the power to create a mass movement that can remove you. I thought of Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Stephen Hester, reluctantly turning down his controversial bonus in the face of overwhelming public anger; and of Apple, the giant computer company, threatened with a boycott because people round the world are outraged to learn of the poor working conditions in the many Chinese factories where Apple’s iPads and iPhones are made.

Will recognising that there can be more to capitalism than just the bottom line become a worldwide movement making customers and workforce happier; part of every successful company’s mission statement? That's the question that I'm left with today.

Carole Stone is chairman of YouGovStone.

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