Problem of Tension in a Young Executive’s Life
Tension is the most
common problem being faced by corporate executives. It affects their personal
and professional lives and results in lifestyle diseases, depression and
unhappiness. Every corporate executive knows that he suffers fromtension that
may be visible or not so visible. HR experts have used reams of
papers---rather, many TB hard discs--- on talking about to achieve work-life
balance but their efforts have not yielded encouraging results.
In a majority of cases
it has been observed that corporate executives begin to face tension-related
problems while they are only two or three years into their profession.
Therefore, it is imperative that we understand the problem of tension, analyse its
causes and look for probable solutions.
It’s very natural for a
young executive to desire to always excel and expect 5 star ratings. In a corporate
environment there is always expectations of not only achieving targets but also
exceeding them. This leads to an obsession to become a star performer, and
consequentially, even a slight failure in achieving short-term results become a
source of enormous tension.
Another cause of
getting tense is fierce competitive environment in corporate organisations.
Every employee tries to always outdo his peers and this results in constant
tension of not only performing well but also watching over others. If others
perform better, a young executive feels jealous. As a result, he may lose his
focus and get depressed in the process. This competition is not restricted to
colleagues within the organisation but is also with regard to friends and former
classmates. Sometimes it is observed that when a person shares his job-related
problems with his friends, they paint a very rosy picture of their jobs and do
not really empathise with him. This sows the seeds of tension in the mind of the
young executive.
Lack of job security in
corporate organisations (especially in start-ups/ loss-making companies) is one
of the most common reasons responsible for tension among executives. He is in
constant fear of losing his job. Rumours play a very important role in such
situations and create a feeling of insecurity among employees. Instead of focusing
on his work,an employee starts becoming more concerned about the possible consequences.
Although decisions about handing out Pink Slip are taken at the top level and
an employee can’t do anything about this, yet he lives in constant fear and
tension.
Meeting deadlines is
another big challenge before a young executive. An employee accepts an
ambitious deadline due to the boss’s pressure or if he is overconfident about
himself. When the deadline draws closer, he gets panicky and tense, and becomes
irritated, resulting into sleepless nights or working late in the night and
starting again very early in the morning. He forgets that lack of sleep makes
him irritable and tense, thus increasing the chances of committing mistakes. He
shouldn’t forget that his performance will be judged by the end result and not
by his efforts. The end result must be in accordance with the company’s
expectations.
I can say with my more
than 35 years of corporate experience that sleeping less on a regular basis
results in low productivity and high probability of committing mistakes. This
adversely impacts an executive’s performance and he starts doubting his own
ability.
Another reason for tension
is that certain individuals are over-ambitious. It’s a well-known fact that
every company has its own Rewards & Recognition Policy and Criteria. Five-star
rating is given to a select few who perform exceptionally well. Most of the employees
don’t get it. Some of the employees who fail to get it take it to their heart,
descend into depression and become over-reactive, They should not forget that
being ambitious is good, but being over-ambitious is self- destructive.
Tension in an employee’s
professional life directly impacts his personal life. Work pressure and long
working hours on a regular basis will result in the employee not being able to devote
time to his family and, due to work-related tensions, he will get irritated on
small issues at home and in his social circle.This leads to unhappiness in his family
life and causes further tension. Very often, extended working hours take a toll
on a young executive’s personal life.
I can vividly recall my
own experiences in this regard. When I was handling international marketing, I
used to travel 15-20 days in a month and rest of the days I had to sit till
late hours to interact with international clients according to their timings.
Those days phone and postal services were the only mode of communication. One day
my wife told me that our six-year-old son was telling his friends that his
father did not have time for him. I felt extremely hurt and began to ponder
over the irony. I was interacting with my international clients even at odd
hours to keep them satisfied, but I was not able to keep my six-year- old son
happy by giving him enough time at home, This incident had a big influence on
me and made me change my working style.
After discussing basic
reasons of tension, we should now talk about possible solutions for easing it:
The first step towards
easing tension should be doing breathing exercises i.e. inhale and exhale.When
you are worked up and tense in your work, take a few minutes break, leave your
workstation and go into an open area where you can get fresh air and do some
inhale-and-exhale exercises for 2-3 minutes. It will give you relief from
tension and you will be able to work with better concentration. Morning walk
and breathing exercises are an essential part of a corporate executive’s life.
Another step towards
easing tension regarding deadlines of a task is to understand that deadlines
are an essential part of every executive’s job but one should be practical in
setting deadlines.One must analyse the steps required to meet the deadline and
do proper planning of time required. One must keep some cushion for certain
exigencies while making these plans.
Effective time
management is also essential to have less tension. Except some extraordinary
days, one should have a work schedulethat should not be more than 10-12 hours a
day. To my mind if one works for 10-12 hours a day in a focussed way, he will
be able to meet his goals as well as deadlines with best results. One should
not forget that mental and physical fatigue have an adverse impact on one’s mind
and body.
One should spend some
quality time with one’s family on a daily basis and must take one day’s off in
a week.One should avoid general phone calls related to work except in the case
of extreme situation and try to reply mails in office.One needs to switch off
mentally from your office work after you have reached home. Believe me, heaven will
not fall if you don’t think about office work after reaching home. Do not take your office into your home and
your home into the office.
A friend of mine who
was Group President of a top industrial house told me that he didn’t take any office-related
call once he had reached home. He said that even his Group Chairman sent him an
SMS if he hadsomething urgent to which he replied by SMS only. He said that by
sticking to this rule, he was able to manage his family life as well as
professional life smoothly.
Many people make a
daily To-Do list which keeps on getting longer during the day. Don’t get
hassled. Take one task at a time and start with less time-consuming jobs just
like the examination where one attempts the easier questions first. Keep on
ticking what you have done and then proceed further.Please don’t forget to
review it and making a fresh list next day including pending work of the previous
day.Making To-Do list is very helpful.
According to the productivity
company “iDoneThis”, about 41% items on a To-Do list never get completed and,
according to psychologist Art Marksman, that’s probably fine. Marksman says
that writing down what you need to do can prompt you to think about all the
steps necessary to do it and start working on that task.
Tension caused due to
feeling of competitiveness with colleagues and friends is like thinking “Their
shirt is Whiter than mine”. It can be solved by making a few changes in one’s
thought process, One should not expect to get excellent ratings followed by hefty
increment and promotions every year. It’s fine to get it every second or third
year. One must remember that Sachin Tendulkar, who is considered one of the
world’s greatest cricketers, has played 200 Tests and has scored 51 Test
Centuries. One can easily say that the best player in the world has got
centuries in one fourth of the test matches he played.
Have faith in yourself
and focus on long-term goals and not on short term results.
It’s better to remember
Bobby McFerrin’s song :
“Don’t Worry Be Happy”
Views
of :
Avinash C.Chaubey
