- By Milan K Sinha
The world is changing fast - socially, economically, technologically & culturally, and so is our country. The pace of this change has been faster in corporate world with the advent of the famous concept of LPG -Liberalisation, Privatisation & Globalisation. Everybody, even those who don't understand fully the meaning of GDP talks in terms of this term. Creating a compelling work environment for achieving, at times even seemingly unachievable, business targets more by crook than by hook is becoming the order of the day in many companies, more noticeably in Indian IT as well as Financial Sectors. As a corollary, the natural character of our daily routine undergoes changes for the worse, more particularly for our urban working population. The reasons may be many and may also seem to be genuine and compelling, but in the bargain we are confronted with stress, stress and more stress. Obviously, changing the natural course of life at will or worse under compulsion, doctors opine, creates a highly stressful situation which affects not only our health but also the health of our family at large since it has multi -dimensional impact on our life. Believe it or not, it is a very big and serious issue for all HR managers and wellness consultant across the world.
Mr. Hans Selye, the famous American Stress Management Expert, has identified the top stressors at one’s workplace as urgency of achieving the periodical business targets, excessive work pressure, demanding and aggressive bosses, less performing and sometimes non-performing colleagues, competitive peers and excessive touring. The long office hours mainly due to late sitting habits resulting in very little time for the family especially children is a major cause of domestic disharmony. And on top of everything, the increasing uncertainty in today’s corporate life as regards job security, transferability, career progression etc. leads to so much of executive stress. This kind of situation, in turn, affects the behaviour pattern of an individual, sometimes fatally.
An individual who tries to build up a big business empire or to go up in career path very fast but forgets to Organize, Deputise and Supervise in a positive and transparent manner usually ends up with heart, kidney and liver problems in his early forties itself – majority health problems caused by strain and stress, tension and worries.
It is no denying the fact that over the last couple of years, old but fundamentally sound Indian value system not only in the corporate world but also in our day to day life has generally collapsed and stress is nothing but the direct repercussion of this collapse, of course coupled with our so-called modern and ostentatious fast lifestyle. That is why sane people suggest that in today’s scenario, stress will almost be a constant companion demanding continuous and serious attention. And surely, there are many ways to control stress by adopting different positive life styles, by adopting suitable stress management principles/techniques.
In order to tackle stress a three pronged approach is normally practised in corporate world by being (i) Curative for employees who had already reached high levels of stress and were developing insomnia, symptoms of nervousness and other psychosomatic problems, (ii) Preventive by creating open networks for senior-junior communication to get suppressed feeling out without fear of a backlash and (iii) Promotive by building a culture supported by uniquely Indian values.
# Published in Bihar Times
Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.
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