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Worked up during work hours? (View Comments)
Unnati Narang
Posted On Monday, July 12, 2010 at 12:56:19 PM
Not having time for friends, family and even for oneself can have serious consequences on the overall balance of life. Gone are the days of nine to five jobs. Today you are called to work whenever there is a need to work
Natasha Grover works at a propriety trading firm, a job that requires a twelve hour commitment every day, five days a week. One among the handful of women in her office, Natasha finds it challenging to spend almost her entire day at work and yet find time for family. While initially she enjoyed the thrill of her job, long hours are now taking a toll on her work-life balance. While the corporate culture has successfully filled pockets, at the same time it has emptied one out of his/her free time.
Not having time for friends, family and even for oneself can have serious consequences on the overall balance of life. Gone are the days of nine to five jobs. Today you are called to work whenever there is a need to work. Rahul Kulkarni, Head HR, Kale Consultants explains, “The trend of long and odd work hours took off in India largely due to the emergence of the outsourcing industry, which serve different countries in different time zones. However, long and erratic work hours come with a lot of problems especially health and related issues.”
Pratyush Pundir, Director, OnStage Retail Ventures suffered from serious back pain last year. While health was taking a backseat, yet he could hardly stay away from work even at home, “It is not just about work hours. When you get so engrossed in work, you start to work even after you reach home or when you have taken a day off. Since we have US clients, I try to respond to their emails in real time by working till late. However, companies are increasingly supportive these days. It is more a matter of personal choice and how much responsibility you are willing to shoulder.”
Aiming for balance
While everyone knows the importance of balance, work tends to supersede leisure, especially new entrants in the industry. It is surprising though, that in nations such as the US, while in 1983, the lowest-paid workers were more likely to work long hours, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, by 2002, the most highly paid workers were twice as likely to work long hours as the lowest paid. However, the repercussions are alike for both classes.
Rahul Gama, Vice President, HR, Godrej Consumer Product and Godrej Household Products Limited emphasises the need to balance, “We try to build a culture where balance is most important. In fact, we want to do away with people who have to work for long or extended hours. There needs to be a healthy balance between office and home. Only in exceptional circumstances, in a need or project based situation, would we want people to stay longer. Otherwise if people are working more, we actually ask them to explain. A healthy mix helps you on the job. Too much work causes fatigue, tiredness, etc leading to lower productivity. Burnout happens quicker. There is more stress. Employees grow only in one direction and not overall.”
Coping with long work hours
Employees can strike the right chord by making a little extra effort to integrate their work and personal life. Rahul Kulkarni advises, “Some of the measures employees can adopt to care for their health are to watch their food habits, sleeping hours and to try and take breaks in between shifts. Often, long work hours hamper one’s personal and family life too. While it is majorly the individual’s responsibility to take charge and handle these concerns, support must also flow from the organisation. Employees should have a window, an outlet for their emotions and needs. They should be open to counselling in office. Even supervisors should communicate freely. Long work hours often damage work-life balance. People start getting into the habit of staying late at office. Only when the person can shift his focus to work-life integration can he achieve a long-term solution and promote all round development without letting work or home suffer. Integration is the key.”
Thus, while one can’t completely change how things are, one can definitely make a small start to promote a healthier way of living and working.
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