Acounting scandals, management reshuffles, impending criminal charges – it's been a pretty stressful time for some executives at Computer Associates. It is something of a surprise, then, to see that Islandia, New York-headquartered CA is one of only 15 organisations to be recognised by the American Psychological Association for being a psychologically healthy place to work.

CA won the award for its child development centres, which ease the burden of childcare for its employees.

However, its customers – pressurised CIOs – aren't faring as well. A survey by CIO Magazine in the US reported that IT heads were more stressed than ever. Nearly two-thirds of those polled reported they have to achieve more with fewer members of staff. The result: 72% described their staff as suffering from high levels of stress.

The HR lessons are clear: prolonged stress often manifests itself in high absentee-ism and staff turnover. This threatens to form a vicious circle, as the remaining staff get ever more burdened. Stressed employees are typically less productive and more prone to making errors. All of which just makes CIOs even more stressed.