By Preeti Kulkarni & Neha Pandey Deoras, ET Bureau
One-and-a-half-years ago, 31-year-old Niraj Manek had all that it took to be considered a high flyer—a management degree from a renowned institute in London, a high profile job with a leading Mumbai-based private bank's wealth management team and a hefty paycheck of Rs 15 lakh. Yet, he decided to draw the curtains on his lucrative career to settle for a relatively quieter job with a consultancy firm. The reason? Stress. The silent killer accused of claiming several lives.
While on one hand Manek was expected to generate revenue for the firm, on the other, the processes allowed very little time for client interactions. The clients' well-being took a backseat in an industry that claims to promote their interests. "Attending internal meetings and creating numerous spreadsheets and compliance reports ate into 60-70% of productive hours.
We would often be expected to give priority to internal meetings over client meetings," he says. Moreover, gruelling schedules meant that regular weekdays stretched to over 15 hours. "Employees were expected to report to work to file reports even on days they had to travel to far-flung suburbs for client meetings," says Manek.
Triggering a meltdown
Manek is one of the many employees in India who have experienced stress linked to work at some stage in their careers.
According to a study conducted by Towers Watson in May last year, close to half of the respondents (employees) in India reported excessive pressure at work. Around one-third of them pinned the blame on "overwhelming" productivity demands from employers.
Balaji Lakshmanan, a 34-yearold Bengalurean who was employed with a five-star hotel in the city, has a similar story to share. His grouse: long working hours and heavy workload. A year ago, he quit.
As assistant general manager, he managed a workforce of 20. He had to get business contracts, secure sales, ensure that budget and revenue targets were achieved and maintain professional relationships with clients.
His typical day would start at 8am and end only by 2.30-3am as there would be events he was expected to oversee till they ended. His superior deemed winding up at 8-8.30 pm 'early'. "I was told I was not the only one who had a family to go back to. I was rated 'below average' during my appraisals," he says.
This despite working for a low pay package of Rs 7 lakh compared to the industry standard of Rs 10 lakh. His superior started assigning more work to Lakshmanan just to keep him from leaving early. When he protested, he was stripped off his core responsibilities.
That was the last straw. After being out of work for three months, he accepted a role in the marketing department of an HR consultancy, where he's found peace of mind. "I always won contracts and exceeded target revenue. I still have mails of appreciation from the MD," reasons Lakshmanan.
His case busts the myth that underperformance is the prime cause of heightened stress. After all, within a year of joining, he had been promoted to the position of assistant general manager as he was seen as a performer. Things started going downhill only after he sought to correct his work-life balance.
More to it than workload
It's not just workload that creates pressure. The Towers Watson survey identified unclear or conflicting job expectations (37% of respondents), poor team working environment (30%) and low pay (30%) as contributing factors. "It is important to look beyond the workload. How talent is managed and communication is done play a key role. For example, the way managers speak to subordinates can impact their morale," says Anuradha Sriram, Director, Benefits, Towers Watson India.
A stifling work culture and environment can drive employees up the wall. Hyderabad-based Alokparna Sengupta and Najma Hussain, a school teacher in Pune, felt suffocated by stringent regulations at their former workplaces.
Hussain recalls being instructed not to talk to fellow teachers when she was working with a leading international chain of schools, where she taught physics and mathematics. "It was seen as not being serious about work," she says, adding that interacting with other teachers is, in fact, a healthy practice. "Discussions can throw up newer ways of making students understand concepts and also tackling difficult students," she says. The school allotted small coupes to teachers in the staff room.
"The principal did not like teachers stepping out of coupes to interact, even during breaks," she recounts. A free period is an accepted norm to enable teachers to complete checking copies, she says. However, as the school operated on thin staff strength, free periods were ruled out. Teachers were forced to stay back to evaluate student submissions, though their duty hours were 7.30am to 2.30pm.
"Though the school was closed on Saturdays, teachers had to report to work and spend the day in meetings with the principal and management," she says. All this meant Hussain was left with very little time for her family. Soon she developed health issues. Finally, she put in her papers. Today, she runs private tuition classes. "It is more rewarding and also helps me devote adequate time to my family," she says.
Her superiors' overbearing control over employee behaviour is what pushed Sengupta to cut short her stint with a leading research firm, which she joined after her postgraduation. Being a "young and hard-working" fresher, working hours were of no concern. "What stressed me out was the school-like environment. Talking to colleagues was a no-no," she says. Micro-management by her superiors left her upset. "If employees were seen as having 'too much fun', they would be summoned to the manager's office and warned about quality of work, despite performing well," she says.
After close to two years, Sengupta decided she had had enough. "It was worse than school. I would just break down in tears, not wanting to go to office," she recalls. Now, she works with an animal rights NGO, which she says gives her immense satisfaction despite not scoring high on the remuneration meter. "I work overtime and have to watch my spending, but I am satisfied because my actions are bringing about sustainable and meaningful change," she says.
The response tallies with Sriram's observation. "Employees feel their life has a greater purpose when they are involved with a social cause. Corporate social responsibility activities are emerging as stress busters," she notes. While the tendency is to assume that employees have no qualms about entering a rat race, pressure to compromise on ethical standards does take its toll. Mumbaiite Ayush Kulshreshtha faced a predicament a year ago while working with a real estate broking firm.
"Our organisation claimed that its USP was due diligence carried out by internal teams on projects being recommended. This was far from the truth," he says. Brokerage, not due diligence, influenced the advisers' decision to recommend projects, short-changing buyers. Today, he has started his own venture where he hopes to create a common platform for builders, agents and buyers. "We plan to enable end-users to post reviews and opinions of projects and builders," he explains. The feedback mechanism, he feels, will instil a sense of security amongst property buyers.
Manek battled a near-identical dilemma when employees were compelled to sell life insurance to 80-year-old clients who had no use for such products. "Such lack of ethics hurts your conscience and raises stress. This is a low-hanging fruit when you are facing target pressures, but you know you are doing something wrong," he says. Though the client's interests are supposed to be paramount, on the ground, they were accorded least importance. "It is a lose-lose situation for the employee and client," Manek says. What's more, the firm's reputation, too, takes a hit as clients are disssatisfied with the service.
Ecosystem's role
Whether employees take the tough call to walk out or not, stress-induced low morale can affect the employer's productivity as well as reputation. Therefore, organisations have a stake in promoting employee well-being, including preparing them to manage stress. While organisations do seem to realise the importance of helping employee cope with stress, their strategies to counter it leave a lot to be desired. As per Towers Watson research, employees and employers have divergent views on sources of stress.
"As the first step, they (employers and HR managers) need to listen to employees to understand the sources of stress rather than concluding on their own," says Sriram. Next, they can put in place a mechanism to help employees cope with stress. The key is to get immediate superiors to listen to concerns and engage to resolve the issues. Involvement of the midlevel management is critical to the success of a stress management strategy. This apart, the organisation could encourage them to take up physical activities in office.
Finally, it is up to family and friends to act as support systems. It can make the difference, literally, between life and death. For instance, unstinting support from her family made Sengupta's decision to disassociate herself from her source of stress easier. "They understood my frustration," she says. They reasoned that if her job made her unhappy, it was better to quit and remain penniless for a while than struggle for money she did not enjoy making. Her savings took her through four months of income drought. As she lived with her parents, she was able to handle financial uncertainty.
When she put in her papers, concerns about the future paled in comparison to her relief. "I was overjoyed," she recounts. Her experience— as also that of others like Manek, Kulshrestha and Lakshmanan— is a lesson for all employees. It is not easy to walk away from your well-paying job, risking your financial security and career. However, once you cross the seeminglyhigh barrier of risks, you could very well end up thanking yourself for your timely decision.
While on one hand Manek was expected to generate revenue for the firm, on the other, the processes allowed very little time for client interactions. The clients' well-being took a backseat in an industry that claims to promote their interests. "Attending internal meetings and creating numerous spreadsheets and compliance reports ate into 60-70% of productive hours.
We would often be expected to give priority to internal meetings over client meetings," he says. Moreover, gruelling schedules meant that regular weekdays stretched to over 15 hours. "Employees were expected to report to work to file reports even on days they had to travel to far-flung suburbs for client meetings," says Manek.
Triggering a meltdown
Manek is one of the many employees in India who have experienced stress linked to work at some stage in their careers.
According to a study conducted by Towers Watson in May last year, close to half of the respondents (employees) in India reported excessive pressure at work. Around one-third of them pinned the blame on "overwhelming" productivity demands from employers.
Balaji Lakshmanan, a 34-yearold Bengalurean who was employed with a five-star hotel in the city, has a similar story to share. His grouse: long working hours and heavy workload. A year ago, he quit.
As assistant general manager, he managed a workforce of 20. He had to get business contracts, secure sales, ensure that budget and revenue targets were achieved and maintain professional relationships with clients.
His typical day would start at 8am and end only by 2.30-3am as there would be events he was expected to oversee till they ended. His superior deemed winding up at 8-8.30 pm 'early'. "I was told I was not the only one who had a family to go back to. I was rated 'below average' during my appraisals," he says.
This despite working for a low pay package of Rs 7 lakh compared to the industry standard of Rs 10 lakh. His superior started assigning more work to Lakshmanan just to keep him from leaving early. When he protested, he was stripped off his core responsibilities.
That was the last straw. After being out of work for three months, he accepted a role in the marketing department of an HR consultancy, where he's found peace of mind. "I always won contracts and exceeded target revenue. I still have mails of appreciation from the MD," reasons Lakshmanan.
His case busts the myth that underperformance is the prime cause of heightened stress. After all, within a year of joining, he had been promoted to the position of assistant general manager as he was seen as a performer. Things started going downhill only after he sought to correct his work-life balance.
More to it than workload
It's not just workload that creates pressure. The Towers Watson survey identified unclear or conflicting job expectations (37% of respondents), poor team working environment (30%) and low pay (30%) as contributing factors. "It is important to look beyond the workload. How talent is managed and communication is done play a key role. For example, the way managers speak to subordinates can impact their morale," says Anuradha Sriram, Director, Benefits, Towers Watson India.
A stifling work culture and environment can drive employees up the wall. Hyderabad-based Alokparna Sengupta and Najma Hussain, a school teacher in Pune, felt suffocated by stringent regulations at their former workplaces.
Hussain recalls being instructed not to talk to fellow teachers when she was working with a leading international chain of schools, where she taught physics and mathematics. "It was seen as not being serious about work," she says, adding that interacting with other teachers is, in fact, a healthy practice. "Discussions can throw up newer ways of making students understand concepts and also tackling difficult students," she says. The school allotted small coupes to teachers in the staff room.
"The principal did not like teachers stepping out of coupes to interact, even during breaks," she recounts. A free period is an accepted norm to enable teachers to complete checking copies, she says. However, as the school operated on thin staff strength, free periods were ruled out. Teachers were forced to stay back to evaluate student submissions, though their duty hours were 7.30am to 2.30pm.
"Though the school was closed on Saturdays, teachers had to report to work and spend the day in meetings with the principal and management," she says. All this meant Hussain was left with very little time for her family. Soon she developed health issues. Finally, she put in her papers. Today, she runs private tuition classes. "It is more rewarding and also helps me devote adequate time to my family," she says.
Her superiors' overbearing control over employee behaviour is what pushed Sengupta to cut short her stint with a leading research firm, which she joined after her postgraduation. Being a "young and hard-working" fresher, working hours were of no concern. "What stressed me out was the school-like environment. Talking to colleagues was a no-no," she says. Micro-management by her superiors left her upset. "If employees were seen as having 'too much fun', they would be summoned to the manager's office and warned about quality of work, despite performing well," she says.
After close to two years, Sengupta decided she had had enough. "It was worse than school. I would just break down in tears, not wanting to go to office," she recalls. Now, she works with an animal rights NGO, which she says gives her immense satisfaction despite not scoring high on the remuneration meter. "I work overtime and have to watch my spending, but I am satisfied because my actions are bringing about sustainable and meaningful change," she says.
The response tallies with Sriram's observation. "Employees feel their life has a greater purpose when they are involved with a social cause. Corporate social responsibility activities are emerging as stress busters," she notes. While the tendency is to assume that employees have no qualms about entering a rat race, pressure to compromise on ethical standards does take its toll. Mumbaiite Ayush Kulshreshtha faced a predicament a year ago while working with a real estate broking firm.
"Our organisation claimed that its USP was due diligence carried out by internal teams on projects being recommended. This was far from the truth," he says. Brokerage, not due diligence, influenced the advisers' decision to recommend projects, short-changing buyers. Today, he has started his own venture where he hopes to create a common platform for builders, agents and buyers. "We plan to enable end-users to post reviews and opinions of projects and builders," he explains. The feedback mechanism, he feels, will instil a sense of security amongst property buyers.
Manek battled a near-identical dilemma when employees were compelled to sell life insurance to 80-year-old clients who had no use for such products. "Such lack of ethics hurts your conscience and raises stress. This is a low-hanging fruit when you are facing target pressures, but you know you are doing something wrong," he says. Though the client's interests are supposed to be paramount, on the ground, they were accorded least importance. "It is a lose-lose situation for the employee and client," Manek says. What's more, the firm's reputation, too, takes a hit as clients are disssatisfied with the service.
Ecosystem's role
Whether employees take the tough call to walk out or not, stress-induced low morale can affect the employer's productivity as well as reputation. Therefore, organisations have a stake in promoting employee well-being, including preparing them to manage stress. While organisations do seem to realise the importance of helping employee cope with stress, their strategies to counter it leave a lot to be desired. As per Towers Watson research, employees and employers have divergent views on sources of stress.
"As the first step, they (employers and HR managers) need to listen to employees to understand the sources of stress rather than concluding on their own," says Sriram. Next, they can put in place a mechanism to help employees cope with stress. The key is to get immediate superiors to listen to concerns and engage to resolve the issues. Involvement of the midlevel management is critical to the success of a stress management strategy. This apart, the organisation could encourage them to take up physical activities in office.
Finally, it is up to family and friends to act as support systems. It can make the difference, literally, between life and death. For instance, unstinting support from her family made Sengupta's decision to disassociate herself from her source of stress easier. "They understood my frustration," she says. They reasoned that if her job made her unhappy, it was better to quit and remain penniless for a while than struggle for money she did not enjoy making. Her savings took her through four months of income drought. As she lived with her parents, she was able to handle financial uncertainty.
When she put in her papers, concerns about the future paled in comparison to her relief. "I was overjoyed," she recounts. Her experience— as also that of others like Manek, Kulshrestha and Lakshmanan— is a lesson for all employees. It is not easy to walk away from your well-paying job, risking your financial security and career. However, once you cross the seeminglyhigh barrier of risks, you could very well end up thanking yourself for your timely decision.
Source:-The Economic Times
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