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”

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                Avinash C.Chaubey