No rest for the weak!

Many of us, especially those in the creative business and corporate firms experience immense stress; hence we tend to push ourselves to work more and never shut down, only adding to a deteriorating health and ultimately succumb to workaholism. According to a recent study by Modesta Morkeviciute, from Vytautas Magnus University, Luthania, the high expectations of the manager causes employees’ to work excessively and become workaholics.

Psychologists believe that it is essential for employees to understand their job roles and learn to voice their issues.

Avantika Sharma, behavioural therapist explains, “Lack of communication across hierarchy and ill-defined boundaries of job roles and responsibilities can lead to work behaviour that results in workaholism, for example when an employee has to commit to ad-hoc work assignments. If managers could delineate their expectations and keep channels of communication open for a constructive dialogue, I am sure it would assist in minimising workaholism. If employees have clarity on their roles and responsibilities, then it ensures that they set realistic goals for themselves and not over-commit to many assignments. Clarity always leads to better communication and that in turn helps in better decision-making.”

Well, apart from super powers which is completely a different dimension it is extremely impossible to maintain a healthy lifestyle by not knowing how to shutdown at the right time.

Nivedita G Sadananda, senior analyst at Accenture said, “It is extremely difficult to say ‘no’ to work beyond my working hours but I very consciously come out of the zone of working for my firm the minute I get into the cab after work. I do believe that there’s more to me than just an analyst. I plug in my earphones and listen to my favourite songs on my way back home and later take yoga classes to calm down and rejuvenate for the next day.”

If you are quite the active one and can easily get drifted while meditating or yoga, you can consider sports to keep you sane and divert your thoughts from work.

Nandan Bharadwaj, assistant manager, HSBC said, “Work can become extremely stressful through the week, but I definitely wouldn’t call myself a workaholic. To get rid of the stress I play sports and I love participating in a fun game of badminton over the weekend. I also spend time with my family and friends which is truly who I am. This helps me divert my focus on the game and my personal life rather than work.”

However, employers on the other hand do not expect you to think about work 24x7. The need for efficiency counts only when you are at work during the designated working hours.  

Bharath Venkatesh, CEO, Sorted Works said, “As a start-up the expectation for my team to work beyond working hours is high, but I try my best to convince the clients to give a rational deadline. It is a common misconception that by working beyond the designated time you are a workaholic, however, it is a compulsive work mentality and inability to switch off is what leads to workaholism. It is true that employees are expected to multitask, but this is only so they learn to manage time and productively contribute to the team. They are free to express discomfort at any point and we work out a reasonable solution to it. To keep my team excited and away from workaholism I organised trips which are all about fun and no work. This way you grow as a firm together.”