Mumbai: PROBLEMS@WORK
Personal lives being rocked by professional commitments, is old hat. The new dilemma that urban professionals are grappling with, is personal problems creating hurdles in professional success. And British screen star Sienna Miller, is no different from the rest of us working mortals. She is said to have begged lover Balthazar Getty, to save her Hollywood career by getting his estranged wife to admit that their marriage had been long over, before he and Sienna began dating, since audiences don't take very well to a home-wrecker
Past relationship haunted her at work
Manassvi Nirupma, Career Counsellor with Global Education
I was drowned in a relationship with a man for almost a year, and when it turned sour, it began affecting my work. I even ended up switching careers. Whether I wished it or not, he was on my mind. It was as if he was ruling every action, and thought that I experienced.
Family commitment might hamper his increment
R. Kabir, Project Engineer with a leading IT company
I belong to a close knit family. The firm I'm associated with, follows a policy where employees have to sit in for an examination to determine what annual increment they receive. I couldn't appear for the exam the day it was scheduled, thanks to a family issue. It wasn't worth talking about with my immediate boss, since it was a centralised company exam. I'm aware that it will affect my salary, but I am hoping for a miracle since the company knows that I have been a committed worker.
Loner image left him with alienated in office
Mithun Roy, Interior Designer
Most people believe I'm a loner since at work, I am focussed and usually concentrate on the task at hand without distracting myself with chatting with colleagues. I wanted to shed this tag, which is why I began arranging post work get-togethers, and weekend treks. Most of them were surprised that I was nothing like they'd imagined me to be.
Personal and professional must be compartmentalised
Dr Jyoti Maheshwari, Psychotherapist
There are two levels of personal problems that affect an individual's career. One, when the individual is personally disturbed. That's a problem at the mental level. The second is when the individual feels depressed owing to problems faced by some other person around him/her
For Manassvi: In Manassvi case, it was important that she sort herself out, and understand the problems that her relationship was facing. Accurate decisions can be taken only when the mind is relaxed. I hope she took the decision to switch careers, after weighing pros and cons. At times, people mistake signs of depression,
for stress.
For Kabir: When an individual accepts that problems are bound to come his way, and not all
problems can be solved, half the battle to balance personal and professional lives, is won. That Kabir doesn't regret the decision he took, of picking family over an official
commitment, is a good sign.
For Mithun: Seeking timely professional help when an individual seems to be uncomfortable with himself/herself, is important. But with Mithun, it wasn't about changing his personality. it was about altering perceptions of those around him, and by taking the initiative to mingle, he took an effective step.
Corporate trainer says:
Waseem Syed, Assitant Manager, Future Learning and Development
Separate home from office: Most of us carry our personal problems everywhere we go, even to work. What we need to do is prioritise. You need understand that it doesn't makes sense to mix personal and
professional, or let one rule the other.
Motivate yourself: Motivating yourself will help managing stress and fighting negative feelings. It your internal drive to achieve, produce, develop, and move forward that helps.
Be Focused:
>>Create a motivating environment around you.
>>Think about your achievements.
>>Examine your strengths to understand what you can build on.
>>Determine what other people see as your strengths, and key capabilities.
>>Set achievable goals for yourself, work to achieve them, and enjoy that achievement.
>>Seek out mentors.
>>The more you look for reasons to believe in yourself, the easier it will be to find ways to motivate yourself.
>>Ask for interesting assignments.
The famous aren't spared either
Jaya Bhattacharya, actor
After splitting with the man she lived-in with for 11 years, she had hardly any work on hand. She had to approach ex colleagues and send out feelers. Her relationship, she said, didn't let her evolve, although she matured physically.
Ajith, Tamil Actor
During the release of his debut movie, a motor bike accident affected his spinal cord and he was bedridden for weeks, leading to a 17-month delay of his second Tamil film.
Scott Foley, actor
He suffered career setback when his marriage to Jennifer Garner soured, as she skyrocketed past him after hitting it big as super-spy Sydney Bristow on popular ABC drama Alias. Their marriage ended in March 2004.
