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Articles: My Thoughts | Tough Times...
- Mr. Ratnakar Sadasyula
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Tough Times at Workplace
Now unless you have a Government job or you have inherited a large fortune or you have won a million dollar lottery, tough times at work is something you would have to face daily. I work as an IT professional, and mind you for all that glam façade which the media portrays of us, we walk on the knife edge daily. Tough times at work is something we have on a routine basis. I remember a particularly tough project I worked some time back, where barring having a bath , I spent the rest of the time in office itself. Demanding clients, idiotic bosses who just outsource everything to you, crazy schedules, cumbersome procedures everything adds up to a work environment which is the equivalent of an Air Conditioned Hell. Having faced 6 years in the snake pit of the corporate world, I felt like sharing some experiences about how to face tough times.
Be Prepared. Accept the basic fact that there is no perfect company, no perfect people to work with, no perfect work atmosphere and most important of all a good boss( a perfect boss is an oxymoron). You go to a battlefield knowing well that you are going to be shot at, well the corporate world is no better, only difference is the shooting is done in a more sophisticated way. When you know you are going to face tough times, you become more mentally prepared to handle it.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew, just to show off that you are a hero. You are a human being, and you can handle only up to a certain amount. Prioritize your tasks well, and handle only those which you can take up. If you are not comfortable with a task, or have no knowledge of it, never even take it up. Remember companies don’t often give you time for a learning curve, and taking an assignment with no knowledge of it, is akin to walking blindfolded on MG Road at rush hour. Mind you multi tasking is a very chaotic approach to doing things, and you are only likely to end up making mistakes in a hurry to get things done.
Schedule and prioritize your assignments properly. At times you have to handle many assignments, and this is where the real challenge comes.Take a look at the tasks which can be finished off soon, and get them done. Are there tasks which require you to interact with other people to get them done? Get on them quickly, because sometimes they might take time to complete. Now comes the biggest challenge, you are assigned to a task, about which you have no knowledge at all. In such a case, find out if there is enough time for you to learn about the task. Meet the person who has experience in this and take their help. And draft a plan to handle your tasks. You might not stick to it, but at least you know in which direction you are going.
Play along with the team. Nothing beats overcoming tough times than interacting with your team members. Don’t try to be a smart know it all, no one is on this earth. Don’t consider it below your dignity to ask some one for help on a contentious issue. If you go with an attitude of hey I know everything, who the hell are these jokers to tell me, you are in effect shooting on your own feet. Interacting with the team during tough times, also helps you on a personal level. When you know that there are other people who are also having to face the same pressure like you, it makes you feel mentally better. Discuss with your team members, get their inputs, and most of the times they would always be willing to help you.
Keep communicating effectively. You are in the thick of a project, and you find that nothing seems to work at all. You have discussed this issue with your peers, superiors, colleagues, team mates but no solution appears in sight to the problem. This is one of the toughest challenges you will likely face. In such a case, communicate this clearly to your reporting manager. If you hide the fact, and on the day of delivery, you admit shame facedly that you could not deliver, because of so and so problem, the first question your boss would ask is “Why was I not informed of this?”. And that is the most embarrassing moment you can face. Give a proper status of what progress has been made, what issues are being faced, what are you doing to resolve this?
Don’t push yourself too hard. You have to resolve that critical issue urgently, but you find that you are not able to, not because you cant do it, but because you are held up. You know the solution for it, but you are not finding time because of meetings and other tasks. You have to sit up all night to do the work. In such a case, go home, have a dinner, refresh yourself and be back. You can never work effectively with an empty stomach and tired mind. Always keep yourself fit and energetic for work, that’s what I want to state effectively. Or take time off to wander, chat with your friends, read some magazines. Or listen to your favorite songs. Mind you, unless your mind is in the work, no amount of pushing yourself will help you.
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