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Executive Stress, Burnout and Racing Cars |
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There
is a great scene in the movie from the last decade Days
of Thunder. Tom Cruise is a race-car driver screaming around a race
track in a noisy blur of smoke and colour. Coming
into a straight, he puts his foot right to the floor. The car screams, the
tacho leaps up into the red and the engine promptly explodes, rendering it
immediately useless. It loses all speed and limps to the side of the
track, a dead, useless vehicle. His
problem was that he pushed his car too far and as a consequence, it died.
The engine was put under too much stress so it burnt-out. Unfortunately,
many executives in the business world have also got their foot to the
floor, unaware that burnout lies just around the corner. The consequences
can be disastrous and costly, not only for the individual but also for the
company. One
of the dominant features of the work arena of the 21st Century
is that of rapid change. We are often changing jobs, roles and tasks, and many
workers find themselves juggling changing technology and performing an
increased number of tasks they were often never trained to do.
Unfortunately, change is one of the most significant factors is worker
stress and burnout. Some
other causes include: role ambiguity, overload, office politics, poor
communication, low levels of consultation, inflexible restrictions, role
conflict, lack of adequate training and low levels of personal support. Academic
research testifies to the enormous increase in corporate stress and
burnout statistics, with one newspaper even referring to workplace stress
as reaching “epidemic proportions”. The bottom line is that this can
be very costly for companies, especially as burnout tends to target
workers who are highly dedicated and enthusiastic – just the workers you
want to keep! Burnt-out
workers become disillusioned, frustrated, resentful and aggressive. They
may “give-up” and their work performance may shift from
“impressive” to “barely adequate”. A range of negative physical
and psychological factors can also occur – at an extreme including
alcoholism, increased smoking, suicidal tendencies, and coronary heart
disease. If
companies are to look after their workers (especially their middle
management teams!) of the 21st Century, they must be aware of
this issue and deal with it. The “foot to the floor” mentality of the
last few decades will no longer cut it in the corporate world, and steps
must be taken before the taco hits the red and companies find themselves
with teams of workers with burnt-out engines who are limping out their
doors in droves. Dr
Peter Downey
(BEd, MA, EdD) A
dynamic and entertaining speaker and facilitator, Peter uses his
background in education and public relations to apply realistic principles
to the corporate world. He holds a doctorate in education and is the
author of three internationally best-selling parenting and marriage books.
His specialties include men’s issues, the family/work balance, burnout
and the principles of high achievement. Peter is a popular commentator on
a range of television and radio programs and was recently featured on the
ABC Television special “Australian Story”. His aim is to bring the
sometimes dry academic and intellectual world to the wider audience with a
pleasing mix of humour. Tirian welcomes Dr Peter Downey to our team.
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