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"Despite a hectic schedule, I make it a point to book myself into hotels
with well-equipped gyms"
Darshan Mehta/CEO/VF Arvind Brands
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Every time Darshan Mehta, CEO, VF Arvind
Brands, jets out of the country on one of his innumerable overseas trips, one
of the first things he packs into his travel bag is a pair of gym shoes and his
workout clothes. While he spends most of his working week shuttling between
Mumbai, where he lives, and Bangalore, where he works, he also spends
considerable time on the road meeting clients, partners and employees across
globe. Despite this hectic schedule, Mehta makes it a point to squeeze up to an
hour, thrice a week, on working out-he prefers to sweat it out at the swish gym
at the tony Bangalore Club, but travel constraints mean that he has to often
settle for a hotel gym. "I book myself into hotels with well-equipped gyms,"
says Mehta, who also burns calories with a twice-weekly game of squash.
While it was initially only select professions such as investment banking where
executives spent seemingly endless hours at work, a booming economy means that
people-across all levels-working in several fast-growth industries such as it,
retail and financial services are now compelled to work long and stressful
hours to keep pace with this rapid growth. So, executives have to find ways to
fulfill their professional commitments and still find time for family, hobbies
and self, i.e., in other words, become super executives, who don't grumble
about long hours, family commitments (and the lack of time to fulfill them) and
the absence of time away from work.
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"I consciously take three or four short holidays every year with family"
Saugata Gupta/CEO, Consumer Products/Marico
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How do they do it? IT companies were among the first to offer employees
destress options, including gyms, sports facilities and lounges, to help them
unwind and maintain efficiency levels; now other firms also offer similar
facilities. "Employees need to be as competitive as possible. So, we emphasise
practices like flexitime and job rotation to help ease the burden," says
Kalpana Srinivasan, Head (HR) at Aspire Systems, an outsourced product
development company.
"It's just as important to make time for yourself as it is to make time for work
and family," says Renuka Ganesh, Associate Manager, Tavant Technologies, who
took six months off after quitting her last job, to pamper herself and unwind
from almost a decade on the job. A licensed student pilot, Ganesh has learnt to
manage her time to meet her changing lifestyle demands (from being a member of
the Air Wing of the National Cadet Corps or NCC to being the mother of an
energetic five-year-old).
| WHAT'S HOT? |
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Activities that are top of the charts with today's super
executives.
Gymming, circuit training
Yoga and meditation
Dance, especially calorie-burning ones like Salsa
Trekking, hiking and weekend trips to the great outdoors
Sport; everything from horse riding to biking to squash
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| SIX-POINT FIX IT |
| Do you do all or any of the following? If you don't, it may be
time to start.
Find time for your preferred activity, ideally after work on weekdays or on
weekends.
Make the effort to spend some quality time with your spouse and children.
If you find yourself speeding to work and then back home at the end of a day,
check your company notice board or the internet for groups you could join.
If you're planning to hit the gym with a vengeance, for example, find good
instructors and take it one step at a time. Ditto for Salsa or Meringue; if you
feel you want to dance, look around for reputed instructors.
It may be more fun to go trekking or rock-climbing when you are among a friendly
bunch of colleagues or friends.
Make it a point to get together with friends and other like-minded people for
social interactions at regular intervals.
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A.L. Rao, coo, Wipro Technologies, uses a distinctly less active way to relax;
he follows a strict regimen of yoga and meditation to unwind. An ardent fan of
the Art of Living school of Yoga, Rao can often be found meditating at airport
lounges when he's flying to important business meetings. Rather than enjoy an
easy Sunday, Rao prefers to drive to the Art of Living campus on Kanakpura
Road, on Bangalore's outskirts, and spend a day quietly meditating, away from
the chaos of the city. "I meditate for 40 minutes every morning and 15 minutes
every evening, wherever I am; over the weekend I go running with music, since
this helps me release toxics and tiredness," says Rajnish, Head of Digital
Marketing and Revenue, msn India
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"We work long hours and riding is a great way to get away from the heat and
dust and traffic in Bangalore"
Indivar Reddy/Project Manager/OnMobile
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"Prioritising work as soon as it is allocated is the best way to find time
outside the confines of your cubicle," says Indivar Reddy, a 33-year-old
Project Manager with OnMobile, who spends his weekend riding his BMW F-650
motorbike to destress. "We work long hours and riding is a great way to get
away from the heat and dust and traffic of Bangalore," he says, adding that
executives must make time for themselves and a hobby to maintain freshness.
"For five days, we worry all day (and often all night) about work, so it's
imperative that we have something to distract ourselves from work," says Reddy,
who recently rode all the way to Ladakh.
Travel is another great stress-buster. If you're the adventurous sort, you could
explore far-flung places, especially North East India, which remain unspoilt
due to its remoteness. If you're on a larger budget, everything from Iceland to
the Antipodes is fair game, say travel operators. A recharge break, though,
doesn't have to be an expensive, long vacation. Many executives swear by the
benefits of shorter breaks to recharge their batteries. Getting stuck at work
for 12 hours or more may be an unwritten requirement nowadays, but taking short
breaks helps balance the work-related fatigue. "I consciously take three or
four short holidays every year with my family," says Saugata Gupta, CEO,
Consumer Products, Marico, who makes it a point to spend time with his kids and
take brisk walks every morning.
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"It's just as important to make time for yourself as it is to make time for
work and family"
Renuka Ganesh/Associate Mgr./Tavant Tech.
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While many people prefer to unwind by meditating and trying to mentally shut
out the daily grind, others prefer more unusual pursuits. Ashwini Kapila,
Director, Barclays Capital, for instance, is an avid cyclist who also likes to
go trekking in the Western Ghats and has even driven from Mumbai all the way to
Leh, via Manali, Drass and Kargil. Sridhar Iyer, Senior Vice President,
Consumer Credit Risk, Personal Financial Services, HSBC, plays basketball
religiously every weekend (he's even on the YMCA team in Chembur, a Mumbai
suburb). "I also get my hands dirty by working on my plot of agricultural land
at Pali, on the outskirts of the city," he says.
If Kapila's experience is anything to go by, it may be a good idea to hook up
with like-minded colleagues, since a large group often adds some extra zing to
these activities. "I am able to undertake these activities thanks to my
colleagues," says Kapila. One of his colleagues goes cycling with him in the
morning.
While biking grew from a commuting necessity to a passion for Reddy, finding a
hobby or activity away from work need not happen this way alone. Executives say
a good place to start is often the company notice board, which could list gyms
that offer company discounts, and provide news on dance, drama and music
classes. Then, there is the wide world of the internet and sites such as
craigslist.org or even the more local burrp.com, which offer local listings to
work-weary executives. Within companies, there are often groups of employees
who have common interests and some water-cooler-side gossip is perhaps the
easiest way to get started.
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"I get my hands dirty by working on my plot of agricultural land at Pali, on
the outskirts of the city"
Sridhar Iyer/Sr. VP, Consumer Credit Risk/HSBC
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"I am able to undertake these recreational activities thanks
to my like-minded colleagues "
Ashwini Kapila/Director/Barclays Capital |
At the end of the day, it is important to take a long-term view of things and
demarcate well-defined boundaries between work life and activities away from
it. "Work is stressful and we tend to get completely spent by the end of every
week. To be prepared to go back to work energised every Monday, you must be
able to disconnect (and then reconnect) with the daily grind," says Reddy.
Arvind's Mehta adds that while it's important to find a way to relax, it's
important to be as dedicated to your preferred activity to really unwind.
"Working out is like an addiction for me; I must spend time in the gym or on
the squash court regularly," he says.
Engineering Finances
India Inc is looking for financial engineers.
Deal Street is getting increasingly complex and difficult. It's no longer enough
for companies to dip into their cash reserves or approach banks for finance to
buy up other companies. Cross-border, and even domestic, deals now require
complex financial arrangements that are increasingly becoming the domain of a
niche group of specialists. Financial engineering, as this is called, is
already an accepted, and very lucrative, domain in the West. Now, Indian
companies, too, are beginning to scout for people with this specialisation. The
preferred candidates are MBAs with a specialisation in finance, or Chartered
Accountants, or someone with both qualifications. Says Shiv Agarwal, CEO, ABC
Consultant: "Even Chartered Accountants are now increasingly coming out of
accounting mindset and becoming finance specialists."
-Rishi Joshi
FACT BOX
WHO'S HIRING: Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs,
Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and a host of other companies.
WHO'RE THEY HIRING: MBAs with specialisation in finance and
Chartered Accountants.
AT WHAT LEVELS: Mostly at the senior or middle management
levels.
AT WHAT SALARIES: A middle-level executive, with 5-10 years
experience, can get salaries of Rs 30-40 lakh P.A; at senior levels, the pay
can touch Rs 1 crore. They also get hefty commissions.
AND THE NUMBERS: Industry-wide figures aren't available, but
given India Inc's appetite for M&As, demand is expected to explode in the
years to come.
Answers to your career concerns are contributed
by Tarun Sheth (Senior Consultant) and Shilpa Sheth (Managing
Partner, US practice) of HR firm, Shilputsi Consultants. Write to
Help,Tarun! c/o Business Today, Videocon Tower, Fifth Floor, E-1,
Jhandewalan Extn., New Delhi-110055..
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