Mixed, Albeit A Money-Stuffed, Bag

Uneasy lies the head that wears the corporate crown. It seems that life in the boardroom and the corporate jet, replete with caviar and chardonnay, isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

In a recent survey of affluent Americans, New York-based U.S. Trust determined that corporate executives bemoan their heavy workloads and the effect on their home lives. They also grouse about how much their personal financial well-being is tied to their companies’ fortunes.

These executives have complaints that rival “Les Miserables,” yet all are among the wealthiest Americans, the top 1 percent. Their adjusted gross income is either above $225,000 annually or their net worth is at least $3 million.

Yes, there are benefits:

Ninety-one percent of these executives find their work interesting and challenging, and 82 percent savor the feeling that they’re part of a team.

Seventy-nine percent also feel they have an opportunity to make a greater impact as part of a larger organization.

More than two-thirds (68 percent) like the fringe benefits and 62 percent say the financial rewards are great.

More than half (55 percent) say that corporate life “avoids the headache of having your own business.”

But the price has been steep and the personal sacrifice considerable, these executives say: Two-thirds (67 percent) feel they’ve little time to relax and 58 percent feel they can’t take vacations.

More than half (56 percent) resent time pressures that prevent them from exercising, attending to hobbies (52 percent) or civic and charitable activities (also 52 percent).

Twenty-one percent say their corporate workload has damaged their health.

Forty-one percent say their corporate success has come at the cost of their relationships with other people, including their friends (41 percent), children (42 percent) and spouses (34 percent).

“Life at the top is not always a bed of roses,” says Jeffrey S. Maurer, president and chief operating officer of U.S. Trust.

Considerably more senior-level executives (41 percent) feel corporate life has become less fun during the course of their careers than the 31 percent who feel it’s become more enjoyable.

For many, the corporate ladder has been a rags-to-riches story. Eighty-six percent of the nation’s most affluent corporate executives describe their childhood background as poor, lower class or middle class.

Ninety-four percent consider themselves upper middle class or wealthy today. But they say their affluence results from working long hours, on average 55 hours a week, and a willingness to go anywhere for the company.

The average corporate executive travels on business almost three months of the year; 36 percent take two weeks or less vacation each year. Only 32 percent take more than three weeks.

He - for the overwhelming majority of corporate chieftains are male - also complains about the frustrations of corporate bureaucracy (73 percent) and office politics (63 percent.) Nearly half (49 percent) say that downsizing and restructuring lead to overwork and stress.

Their biggest financial worry is that too much of their net worth is tied up in their company’s stock. More than two-thirds say that.

Forty-four percent worry that because so much of their compensation is tied to their company’s stock price, it’s hard to plan for the future.

Three out of four (76 percent) expect to receive a corporate pension, but it will provide on average only 26 percent of their retirement income. These business leaders anticipate having to provide 60 percent of their retirement income from their own savings and investments.

So they’re typically saving 25 percent of their after-tax income, while also contributing to 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts and related retirement vehicles.

On average, the executives have 35 percent of their net worth tied up in their company stock and stock options. And on average, they receive 60 percent of their compensation as base salary and 40 percent as a bonus.

Four out of five say the percentage of their compensation that can vary each year has increased over the past 10 years.

Amazingly, 43 percent of the executives in the survey say that chief executives at large corporations are paid too much.

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