How badly does work pressure affect you?

The word “stress” is a paradox and an enigma. Stress is increasingly becoming a dreaded phenomenon, especially for industry where pressure and stress to increase productivity is incessant and unrelenting. Rajeev Kumar, Vice President HR at NIIT says, “Stress is as constant as change in our corporate life. And stress-related health issues are rampant—hypertension/bp; sugar etc. In fact, jokes running around in corporates are that in medical examination reports done at the time of hiring by HR, if someone has no stress-related health issues, it’s a question mark on selection and suitability saying, this guys doesn’t take pressure, hence not fit for job.” The reality is that continuing stress can lead to significant negative fallouts. Stress can cause burn-outs, lower the productivity of employees, executives and workers in whom the companies have invested for years and who are now unable to take on larger responsibilities. There are frequent cases of executive burn-out or even preference for early retirement, and there is a large percentage of corporate workers who feel older than they should and are tired clones of their aspirational alter egos. The paradox is that stress is a sharp and double-edged sword. Stress can either make you an achiever or stress can burn you out.

The extent of damage is inversely related to the frustration tolerance level (FTL) of the individual. The same level of stress for some could just be an avoidable nuisance factor, or it can have disastrous consequences for those with low FTL. However, if the individual has high FTL and strong N-ach (Need for achievement), stress could be an enabler that releases levels of dopamine and energy that keeps the person going beyond normal limits. Even these high achievers begin to burn out when stressed for prolonged periods. No organisation can afford stress-related slowdown amongst the experienced employees that it has nurtured. Therefore, companies are going the extra mile to understand stress and reduce it, but it is not easy to find the balance between good stress and bad stress.

Some studies reveal, and it comes as no surprise, that the causes of stress in companies are largely related to growing uncertainty in jobs, the high pressure environment for performance, workplace bullying by managers and increasing anxiety in personal lives. A study by Optum in 2018 revealed that nearly half the employees in India suffer from some stress. Urbanisation is a major factor in this. Industrialisation and the parallel migration of workers to the bigger cities results in a breakdown of the traditional family support system. The proliferation of nuclear families negatively impacts the work life balance and enhances stress. There is another view that millennials are at an even higher risk, even suicide, as a fallout from breakups in relationships and conflicts in committed relationships. Undoubtedly, there is increased stress all around. Yet, the more relevant thread in all these situations is our inability to handle that stress. The culprit is our deteriorating physical and mental health. It is almost a self fulfilling prophecy, because poor health depletes the body’s defences and ability to handle the stress, which, in turn, weakens you further. The cycle goes on and the same level of stress becomes harder to handle. This realisation has been bothering industry in recent years and they are concerned that executives are ignoring the importance of good health. Studies have indicated that desk-bound jobs, lack of exercise and protein deficient diets are resulting in poor health-related absenteeism. According to ASOOCHAM, this could translate to an equivalent of Us$20billion loss for the organised sector alone. The Companies and Human Resource experts continue to struggle with balancing work stress and productivity enhancement. It is not easy.

We are hurtling into a technology-enabled but physically impaired world. Lifestyles have become sedentary and energy sapping. Most people are so tired coping with daily routine that the thought of exercise sounds daunting. The challenge of changing lifestyles is not easy to resolve. Today, more and more people are prone to diabetes, hypertension and other physical ailments that reduce our efficiency, productivity and our potential. We are losing control of ourselves and becoming increasingly singleminded and burning ourselves faster and faster. We are taking our health for granted, forgetting that it is our bodies that are doing the hard work and that our spirit and our desire for success is dependent on our physical health. We forget that good health is largely a side effect of a balanced lifestyle, balanced diet, adequate exercise and some genetic influence. Good health is at a premium today. Corporate India has been struggling with the issue and various initiatives have been floated by individual organisations from time to time. These include liberal leave policies, career conversations, sounselling, even yoga sessions and options of in-house gyms in the office. Today, we all are caught up in the race to survive and it is for the companies to take up the challenge of ‘corporate parenting’ vigorously. We have to work on the principle of self actualisation where individuals have to become aware and take charge of their own fitness. In recent years many companies have floated projects and campaigns that touch on this issue. Nestle has probably been the leader in this. Sometime during the past decade they started a media-silent campaign that sensitized employees of companies about the importance of nutrition, health and wellness, a balanced diet and adequate exercise. They worked with village communities to increase awareness about nutrition and how to improve diets. Their brands, especially Maggi, have played a leadership role in promoting physical activity for children and the entire family in their TV advertisements. Though opinions may be divided on the impact of the campaigns, it is important to acknowledge Nestle’s farsightedness in exploring such an approach and courage to give it a voice. Nowadays, more companies are focusing on this problem.

Rajeev Kumar of NIIT says, “Corporate India is struggling to propagate and maintain employee wellness as this also has a direct bearing on health insurance cost by corporates. At NIIT technologies, we run a programme with the objective ‘Stay Fit Niitians’. We ensure that our people spend quality time with family, rejuvenate their mental and physical wellbeing, remain fit and productive, and avoid executive burn-out. IANS