Workplace stress: turning the tide

It is my firm belief that workplace stress has been around in one form or another for ages.

However, what has changed over time, is its structure, and intensity- the beast has starkly metamorphosed. Today, amplified by technology-driven jobs and laggard employment rates, stress has become a constant hum of fatigue, dissatisfaction and the pressure to remain perpetually available. These anxieties rarely stay within the four walls of the office; rather, they sneak out surreptitiously, into the outside world, magnifying personal, emotional and physiological faultlines like never before.

I have witnessed all these changes during my nearly four decades of corporate life experience.

My career- like those of many others – has had its share of tranquillity and turbulence, highs and lows, shaped by hierarchies, interpersonal dynamics and the often not too subtle currents of power and politics. At times, professional strain collides headlong with personal worry, thereby creating an atmosphere of acute self-doubt, as happened with me during the COVID-19 pandemic, when my hypertension spiked sharply, as my daughter, Mehak, a young doctor, took her position on the frontlines of the raging war across the seven seas. The ambiguity took a palpable toll on my health, to an extent that medication that had long been stable had to be increased suddenly.

It was in this state of apprehension that I took up a new assignment – after the lockdown had eased- anticipating the familiar, uncertain phase of adjustment. Instead, I was surprised by what I encountered- something that altered my understanding of workplace stress. There was, to begin with, an unusual lightness in the environment. And although work was taken seriously, the edge of fear that often accompanies it, was absent. Soon, I fathomed that the difference lay largely in leadership, as the team lead laid emphasis on brevity and humility, preferring it over pomposity, exaggeration and hype. Expectations were clear, but they were not enforced through intimidation, something that resulted in a culture of trust, rather than anxiety. These positively charged winds received a further boost, recently, during a posting I worked on.

It was here that I truly understood the equally important role of relationships. Within months of taking over, I established close bonds with a small group of colleagues, at a similar stage in their careers as me- rushing speedily towards what in common parlance is referred to as ‘Senior Citizen’. What began as shallow banter, grew into genuine camaraderie—conversations that extended into shared experiences and reflections. These connections created a sense of ease that had been missing in many professional settings I had known thus far.

Amid all this came an unexpected- and most welcome- change. During a routine medical checkup, it was revealed that my blood pressure had dropped below normal levels, requiring a reduction in medication. Soon after, my diabetes indicators showed their best readings in over a decade.

Based on these findings, I have come to appreciate that these are not mere strands of hay floating in the wind, but, instead, are pointers to something of much more import. Often, we overlook them during conversations on stress management, which tend to focus on individual coping mechanisms—mindfulness, exercise, better time management. While these do matter a lot, they are only one part of the picture. Because hidden underneath is a crucial lesson – that environments we work in, the leadership we experience and the relationships we build play an equally decisive role. Workplace stress may be inevitable. But the way it shapes our lives is not.

APS Malhotra

New Delhi

9999258285