Tiding Over Workplace Troubles

Being a final year engineering student, I’ll be joining the workforce in the second half of 2019. I decided to draw up a list of issues that are likely to bother me at my workplace and some suggestions on what can be done under each of these circumstances. This list has been inspired by an excerpt from ‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg regarding a practice followed at Starbucks, where a new employee is given a workbook full of hypothetical situations (eg: angry customer starts yelling). The new employee spends some time thinking about these situations and fills in the steps to be taken in response. Being prepared for unpleasant situations helps avoid rash decisions taken under emotional pressure. Let’s dive into my list!

1. Self doubt: A feeling of ineptitude can creep its way into the mind. If not tackled quickly, such doubts can eat away one’s self confidence and make one miserable.

• Identify the gap: It is usually a mismatch between your expectations and the reality that triggers this discomfort. For instance, if you are in HR and are expected to work your way through 5 resumes each day, and you find yourself not hitting this target, it is natural for you to feel incompetent. Not all jobs have such clear cut deliverables. It is necessary to first gauge where you fall short and by how much.
• Believe in yourself: You earned your place in this company. You fought your way through their tests and interviews. They chose you because they found you capable; worthy of their time and monetary investment.
• Bridge the gap: Interact with other employees. Observe how they tackle targets. Be frank about any troubles that you are facing. People are usually happy to help new recruits find get comfortable with the company. If there are any online courses / books / company documentation to be read, take them up immediately. Set aside some weekend hours to come better equipped on Mondays :)

2. Pay Packages and the Lure of Big Names: Ideally, we are clear about our goals in life and it is evident that everyone is set on their own personal journey. There is no race since everyone is headed in unique directions. Nevertheless, we are prone to drawing comparisons between ourselves and those around. It is natural to feel a tad jealous of school/college mates who are apparently more ‘successful’, especially when things aren’t very rosy for us.

• Separate the wheat from the chaff: Say you are in finance, and you come to know that your school friends who are doctors earn more than you do. While it is easy for a third person to see that there’s no point in feeling disgruntled about this, even such silly thoughts may lead to deep discontent during periods of emotional lows. Sharing such concerns with someone close, such as a parent or a mentor will break the jinx and help you laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
• Is this even true? Remember that news about placements and pay packages tends to get exaggerated when passing from one bearer of information to another. Take a moment to consider two aspects of any ‘so-and-so-works-at-this-big-shot-company-and-earns-so-much’ news: did I get this information from the person involved itself? (most likely never) Is this even relevant to me?
• Shut out sources of unnecessary information: If you are not actively considering a job switch, it is a good idea consciously avoid looking up salary figures on Glassdoor. If you find you find yourself envious of a specific person’s lifestyle, probably you should unfollow them on Facebook and Instagram.
• If the information is useful: Probably you deserve a pay rise. Probably there’s something you can do to upgrade your skills, making you more eligible for higher pay. Keep your spirits high and tackle your work with some extra vigour.

3. Underwhelming work: I utilize every opportunity to talk to those who’ve graduated from my college. A reason that many of them stated for leaving their stable 9 to 5 jobs and taking a plunge by going for further (mostly foreign) higher education was that their work wasn’t challenging enough.

• Look for additional work: Shouldn’t be hard, considering that most institutions run on lower manpower than required. Prior to this, you must confirm through interactions with co-workers and your boss that you are indeed meeting all that is expected of your role.
• Wait for a while. Like a couple of months. Some seniors I know complain that their roles edge more towards engineering (getting things done, products delivered) than research (looking around for better/new ways to do stuff). This is quite natural in large established companies. If you are unable to make useful suggestions on process improvement, just focus on delivering your targets on time. When targets are being met, managers like to ramp up the pressure to get the most of their employees. Systematically submit your work on time, mostly someone will notice the good job that you’re doing and fill your plate with some more.

4. Stress due to Workplace Competition: Though many companies try to maximize the productivity of their employees through group activities, sometimes a sense of competition takes the front seat. While healthy competition keeps everyone on their toes, unnecessary competition makes workplace life a pain.

• Are you sure it all ain’t in your mind? Sometimes we create ‘enemies’ out of our co-workers. We stop making eye contact with them and avoid every possibility of a conversation (worse yet, spread false news and gossip about them). A good antidote to such made up enmity is just walking up to this person and starting a conversation by (sincerely) complimenting them. It’s always better to have such issues sorted out than ambiguous.
• Do something about it: Talk to someone about it. See if the situation can be avoided (can the groups be shuffled?). If the company is forcing competition between the employees (eg: insurance companies urge their employees to compete against one another to collect maximum investment), talk to the HR department regarding the adverse effect of this competition on the workers’ well being. Sadly, such competition and the associated stress is a daily affair for those in sales and marketing.

5. Too much work: Many a times we find ourselves slogging hard just before the deadline. We sacrifice our sleep (in the process, our physical and mental well being) to be able to turn in our work on time.

• Start early: Maybe for a change you can try being a pre-crastinator instead of the mainstream procrastinator. One useful policy for special assignments, additional duties and report submissions is to start on the day the work is assigned.
• Demanding bosses: Sometimes it feels as though the boss is intentionally making our life hell by loading us with more work than what is possible by us. If there remain no options (boss is unwilling to listen, we have no choice but this job and position), it is imperative to learn to accommodate. Level up, work harder and deliver. If it really is getting unbearable, raise the issue with higher authorities.

6. Unable to stop working: This closely follows the sleep deprivation point mentioned above, but I decided to make this an explicit category since this plagued me during my summer project. During the initial phases of the project when the submission dates seemed like a distant dream, it is easy to get caught up in every step along the way in a quest for the mirage of perfection. You work on something until very late at night, fall asleep, wake up and immediately turn on the laptop to resume working. This work-sleep-work routine will lead to burnouts; your productivity levels will take a nosedive and your mental well being will spiral out of control.

• Meditate everyday: Fifteen minutes of self awareness every morning will set the right positive outlook for the day.
• Make progress everyday: While it is easy to get lost trying to select one of the multiple routes to your destination, regular meetings with your guide/team mates ought to do the trick and keep you on track and on time.

7. Lacklustre Response: Many a times, our efforts do not yield proportionate results. I’m reminded of some college club meetings that are organized with great zeal by an enthusiast that not enough people turn up for, much like Mia’s ‘One Woman Show’ in La La Land. It’s much easier to do only as much as is expected of us, and not to put in the extra sweat that no one seems to care for. But you must persevere to see through your ideas being implemented, the prospect of them working out well is simply too tempting to ignore :)

• Identify the audience: It would be unfair to expect everyone to be as thrilled as you are about your personal project. Sit down and think about whom this work would be most relevant to. If you’ve made a video highlighting the infrastructure and facilities of your college, then the public relations officer would like to add it to the college website. Don’t let wrong audience get your spirits down.

8. Time’s Up: Workplace harassment is so prevalent that our society has become somewhat normalized to it — no one is surprised to know that xyz quit her job due to a ‘bad experience’ at office.

• You’re not alone, it’s not your fault: You don’t deserve this misery of dreading to go to office. Speak up, talk to the counselor, higher officials, other female staff, whoever can help you out of the situation. It’s natural to get scared and all cowed up, especially when you are a beginner. Share anything that bothers you with a family member or someone close, some third person perspective will give you the necessary emotional support and better clarity on measures that can be sought.
• Stay alert: Take note when you hear allegations about misconduct about your co workers. Use your common sense; listen to your gut instincts. If you are not comfortable with a certain meeting/project discussion timing/venue, inform those involved. Keep yourself safe, watch out for your friends as well.

9. Bad times: The wind’s against you. You’re trying but failing. Others seem to be performing better than you without having to toil so hard. You want to perform well at this job so bad it hurts. Are you not good enough? Emotions kick in and things begin spiraling out of control. You seem to be all alone; you wish there were an ‘exit’ button so that you could take a break.

• Recollect your past conquests: Set aside some time to think over previous lows in life; think about how you overcame past situations that seemed insurmountable.
• Hang on: Pray, read books and biographies, start making something, keep yourself occupied. Have faith that things will eventually improve. Maybe you can call up an old friend and have a long conversation. Maybe you can Google up and read about the World Wars, Independence struggles, economic depressions and all such other ugly times and appreciate the fact that humans have overcome extremely trying times. Maybe you can write down everything to get a better grasp of things.
• Work hard: Don’t compromise upon your efforts. It might feel like you’re dragging a ton of weight around, but don’t stop trying.
• Take a break: If that’s what you think you really need.

10. Sorry, wrong number: Career switch ain’t unimaginable. People do it all the time, actually. Sit down, list the stakes, talk to everyone involved. If you have the luxury of having someone who can support you monetarily for the required stabilization period until you cement yourself in the new career, go ahead, make a well informed switch.

• Do your research: In order to convince your family and others involved, you really must be convinced yourself about what you’re gonna do. You need to be aware of the possibilities and the risks. You need clarity on whether the intended field aligns better with your strengths and goals than your present one. You need to be sure that once you’re there, you’re not gonna wish you were back here.
• Practical but optimistic: Reach out to people in your intended field. Ensure that you aren’t being mislead by internet web pages written by universities in need of students/companies trying to hype up their work.
• Think it through: Close your eyes and imagine the future. Envision problems arising and how you’ll face them. Will others’ comments matter to you? If the field that you are leaving behind takes off and becomes hugely successful, will it bother you? Be frank to yourself when answering such questions.
• Discuss with someone wise: Mentors, mothers, professors… they seem to know the world and its ways; their insights can cut through layers of complications that shroud the true underlying problem. Explaining your situation to someone can also help your get your thoughts organized and clear.

If you read so far, I really appreciate it. Go ahead and clap to let me know if it struck a chord with you. I would love to hear your feedback, especially any specific troubles that you’ve faced at your workplace and the process by which you overcame it :-)