The historical trend of higher earning people being less busy at work in comparison to the lowest paid, has been turned on its head over the last three odd decades. Today it is common for the highest paid to put in double the hours of the low paid ones. This is especially true for those working in strategy or business consulting firms. Research firm Gallup says that about seventy percent of employees seeking psychological assistance do so for stress related matters. Employers have admittedly responded to this by adopting some proactive steps to ease the burden on employees. One way has been by simply paying professionals more. Another is by making the workplace more fun. Some have added corporate training programmes involving mindfulness or mental health to help the employees. Ultimately, nothing has worked that well, so instead employees need to respond in ways to cope themselves. One way to do so is by being strategic and focussing on the bigger picture. The overworked hours must be measurable, so clear metrics need to be defined in order to keep track. Instead of trying to change the pattern completely, a few incremental updates must be tried out as that is easier to implement for organizations. Changing small behaviours can only improve one’s productivity. Finally, one needs to find a work partner who can always remind the person about the erosion of time and effects on personal life or health. This person should not be afraid to speak out the blunt truth.

Source:https://hbr.org/2017/12/how-to-be-more-productive-without-burning-out?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Uploaded Date:19 January 2018