Home work Doesn't Pay
Problem: There's work and then there is more work. And some more. It never seems to end.
Solution: take it home.
Between the problem and the solution, work has thrown the family out of business.
What is missing is a sense of balance and the need to restore it.
That is something that Falgun Shukla, senior GM-IT of Hikal, has mastered over time. "Generally, I do not extend my working hours too much. I prefer to spend time with my family visiting a temple or the market with them," he says.
His family is quite tuned to his moods. When they find him sitting alone and uncommunicative, it is a sign that he is stressed. But that's an infrequent scene in the Shukla household, thanks to his strong belief in maintaining work-life balance.
So how does he ensure that he keeps work at work. "Planning and scheduling are prime factors in reducing stress," says Shukla. He adds that he always includes extra time for contingencies when he makes a commitment.
However, the turning point came for Shukla before he joined Hikal. In his previous job, where he had spent around 18 years, Shukla felt his seniors ignored him. "I was so keen on quitting that I was willing to take up any job just to get away from the company," he says.
That's when he realized that he needed some equilibrium. He looked for a work environment that was friendly because that builds understanding, he says. "My stress level depends more on my comfort level with my seniors. I do not get stressed when I am comfortable because I can explain my problems to my seniors," says Shukla.
And that's what he practices with his juniors. "I tell them to talk to me whenever they have an issue, and this helps them beat stress," he says.
But when stress does get to him, he plays the tabla - on his table at work. His fingers set a rhythm on his table making way for soulful introspection in the solitude of his cabin - in harmony with work and life.
-By Balaji Narasimhan
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