Stressed and overworked? Learn how to boost your productivity

Stressed and overworked? Learn how to boost your productivity

By Priya Pathiyan

While the rumour that it's now illegal to answer a work e-mail after 6 pm in France, isn't quite true, switching off from work is something that's considered important in the Western world. Try telling that to your boss though! In the Indian context, especially in multi-nationals or private companies, there's just no concept of fixed working hours. If you finish the tasks at hand faster than the rest and shut down your work station before your colleagues, you're actually looked at askance and your work ethic called into question. And along with the pressure to work long hours, there's also the pressure to work 'hard', that is, continually complete more and tougher assignments, achieve more, strive for even more... Put together, being made to work too hard or too long is leading to people being very overworked.

Nine to five used to be the accepted norm for work hours. But look around you today. How many people really work just eight-hour days and 40-hour weeks? Being in office until late and working through the weekend... there's nothing shocking about that anymore! Breakfast meetings, working lunches, business dinners... every meal of the day seems to have been hijacked by your professional life too. The Blackberry and the smartphone have made it impossible to switch off even once you're home or trying to enjoy yourself. Everyone admits they're stressed but no one even calls it being overworked these days, at it's the rule rather than the exception.

Why do people overwork?

One sort of pressure is external and can happen for a variety of reasons...

Special circumstances: The company needs to do well in a field that has many other players and the amount of work you put in on a project can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure. This is usually a temporary situation and most employees are happy to rise to the challenge in a combined team effort to boost performance.

Organisation structure: Sometimes, as a result of economic difficulties or a recession, the company has to tighten its belt and work on a skeleton staff with each employee having to put in more work than usual. In a good company, the existing staff is usually compensated better than if they worked in a company that had the full set of necessary resources. In a bad company, you could be threatened by further layoffs and made to work extra hours for a reduced remuneration.

Work ethic: As we mentioned in the example above, the company could have an unhealthy system in place, where people who work smarter and for fewer hours are viewed negatively and passed up when it comes to promotions, raises, etc.
Some people tend to overwork even if their company does not demand it. Such internally led overwork can happen for the following reasons...

Rigid personal goals: You may be an ambitious person who thinks that by putting in longer hours and completing more projects, your worth will be recognised and you will rise quickly in the company ranks.

Exaggerated sense of responsibility: You may believe that the system will collapse without your presence and overwork to compensate for other people's inefficiency.

Scapegoat system: Often, you will see that all the difficult or painstaking jobs are assigned to a particular worker. This happens in a situation where the boss or colleagues are adept at side-stepping responsibility and bullying a meek colleague into accepting it.

Ill effects of chronic overwork

The crux of the matter is that people want everything and everyone to be more productive, in order to get a good return on their investment. But is an overworked employee really a productive one who is doing the job best? Contrary to common perception, working longer and harder than normal can actually harm your prospects at work and also affect your personal life...

PROFESSIONALLY

* As a habitual overworker, you may not have time to build meaningful workplace relationships.

* If you're always stressed about a deadline, you may not have enough time and energy for coming up with fresh strategies or reading up on related subjects and wider topics.

* If you're always in office, you may not get noticed in meetings or build rapport with seniors or clients as you cannot discuss the finer points of yesterday's cricket match or the best place to have a drink after work.

* If you are forever seeming anxious, even if it's for legitimate reasons, you could even be perceived as inefficient.

* And, while as the habitual overworker, you may not be overlooked when it comes to promotions or raises, you still certainly won't have the meteoric rise that a confident ideas person with good negotiation skills usually enjoys.

* Juggling too many things, you may drop the ball on one and be labelled a failure despite doing everything else so well.

* Despite focusing on work, you may not enjoy the satisfaction of being creative and productive as you're perpetually stressed and not able to enjoy what you're doing.

PERSONALLY

* You may not have enough time and energy to devote to your family and social circle.

* Your stress levels and anxiety will probably be high and that could affect your physical wellbeing.

* Long hours in the office will mean fewer hours on the treadmill and your fitness levels will take a hit.

* You may get the feeling that life is passing you by as you miss important events in your life.

Want to make work stress-free and effortless? 

Five top tips to be more productive at work...

BUDGET TIME: Set yourself a fixed number of hours per week rather than daily. So if you're pulling an all-nighter today, you can compensate by having an early cut off another day to take your tot to the park. Communicate this to your boss and keep him updated at all times so there's never a moment when he doesn't know where you are or how much you've done.

BE REALISTIC: Don't bite off more than you can chew. Take on jobs that you know you can accomplish within the requisite time. Be upfront with the person who is allocating the work. Learn to say no. If you think it will be difficult to finish, it's best to say so BEFORE you take it on. That will earn you respect for being someone reliable who takes on projects and completes them on time. Don't take on something to please or impress someone else unless you're sure you can do it and do it well.

DELEGATE WISELY: Learn to be a team player. Delegating tasks to others effectively and appropriately will not only make your own work shine but also showcase your managerial skills. This can surely be of help the next time they're looking for a team leader!

UPGRADE YOUR SKILLS: If there's new technology or a technique that can be acquired to make your work better and more efficient, acquire it. Always aspire to be at the cutting edge of your trade.

TAKE USEFUL BREAKS: Work hard, work long if you must. But spend 30 minutes every three hours circulating in office. Don't linger over gossip but have quick, friendly chats with a few key colleagues so you know what's on the grapevine. Offer advice. Ask for tips. Share something mildly personal. Smile. Build a rapport with seniors at the coffee machine. Project yourself as a hard worker taking a much-needed breather so that you're building your image even as you're building relationships. Most importantly, rejuvenate, recharge and relax!

Source:-The Economic Times