Bay Street stands as the benchmark address for Canada's finance, banking and business backbone. But what toll do thousands of trades, transactions and deals have on C-Suite executives and the support staff working long hours to make them happen?
Toronto Chiropractor Dr. Liza Egbogah has been treating 'A' list C-Suite clients from her financial core practice for over six years. In that time she's determined that pain and profession go hand and hand, that there's a direct correlation between what you do and the type and severity of pain you are likely to experience. Armed with six years of patient data, Dr. Egbogah created the Bay Street Pain Index, the first ranking of type, location and severity of pain brought on by the high stress professions of Bay Street.
In the case of Administrative Staff such as Executive Assistants and Office Managers there is a very real physical correlation. They top the Bay Street Pain Index Score of (37).
The Bay Street Pain Index:
Profession (in order of most painful) Key Areas of Pain Bay Street Pain Index Score
(Out of a possible 50)
1) Admin. Staff Shoulders, arms, headaches 37
(Office Managers, EAs etc.)
2) Hospitality Industry
(Restaurateurs, Hotel, Chefs) Feet, neck 33
3) Lawyers Neck, mid-back 31
4) IT Professionals Mid back, neck, shoulders 29
5) Analysts Neck, upper/lower back 28
6) Senior Executives
(CEOs, CMOs, CFOs) Glutes, lower back 26
7) Bankers Neck 20
(Execs, Traders, Investment)
So, why do Admin. Staff top the index?
"Have you ever had a tough and demanding boss? Admin. Staff on Bay Street working at law firms, banks and brokerages probably have five," said Dr. Liza Egbogah Founder of the[fix], a boutique comprehensive chiropractic and massage clinic in downtown Toronto. "Anecdotally, patients have confided that there may be a few bad bosses on Bay Street that are literally making a painful workplace for their staff."
Key Findings of the Bay Street Pain Index:
A) Administrative work is the most painful profession on Bay Street!
Coming in at a pain index score of 37 (out of a possible 50,) Admin. Staff seem to be bearing the brunt of Bay Street pain. Hospitality industry workers (33) and Lawyers are (31) are distantly behind.
Admin Staff experience regular headaches and shoulder pain more than any other Bay Street Profession, this is likely due to demanding bosses.
B) Bankers experience the least physical pain on Bay Street
Surprisingly, bankers come out on top with the least amount of consistent, work related pain. With the lowest score by far of all seven professions (20) Bankers may be dancing all the way to the bank.
Though many pain points are ranked at 1 (legs, arms, headaches, etc.) Bankers experience significant pain in the neck and mid/lower back.
C) If you can't be a Banker, be a Senior Executive
Though they experience significant pain in the glutes and lower back, at (26), Senior Executives place as the second least painful profession on Bay Street. Senior Executives experience significantly less pain than Lawyers (31) and Hospitality Industry Workers (33).
"Its remarkable that we've seen hundreds of patients of different ages and levels of fitness, but they tend to have predicable and chronic pain based on their professions," added Dr. Egbogah. "The good news is that most Bay Street professionals from support staff to CEOs have extended medical care benefits so they can deal with these chronic pain issues as they appear."
Dr. Egbogah adds that many of these chronic issues can be directly combatted with simple stretches and exercises but assigning 'homework' meets with mixed results. "Many of our patients would benefit from these stretches but they never seem to find the time to add them to already busy schedules."
