Handling Pressure is an art by itself. Pressure is something that you feel. It is relatively proportional to the task and your "can do" stimulus. The greater the need and the more doubt on your ability to do, the more will be the increase in pressure. As pressure is internally generated, you have the power to manage it yourself, but you must first locate the source of the pressure and then figure out how to deal with it.
The apparent source of pressure in software projects is the need to meet uncompromising deadlines. This schedule pressure could come from the management, your leads and your peers. But the real source of pressure however, is us. It comes from our natural desire to achieve what our managers or peers want. When this ability is coupled with normal doubts in oneself about the ability to accomplish and to perform the results can be destructive. Please remember that excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and impact your physical and emotional health.
The helpguide.org has listed down the "Signs and Symptoms of excessive job and workplace stress" as
- Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed
- Apathy, loss of interest in work
- Problems in sleeping
- Fatigue
- Trouble concentrating
- Muscle tension or headaches
- Stomach problems
- Social withdrawal
- Loss of sex drive
- Using alcohol or drugs to cope
With the current economic scenarios, employees everywhere feel that the troubled economy is like an emotional roller coaster. "Layoffs" and "Budget Cuts" have become order of the day in the workplace, and the result is, increased fear, uncertainty, and higher levels of stress. Since job and workplace stress increase in times of economic crisis, it’s important to learn new and better ways of coping with the pressure.
How to Handle Pressure?
When in pressure, take one deep breath and ask yourself some basic questions.
- Why is this happening?
- What will happen if I don’t deliver on time and how can I avoid this?
- Who are the persons or situations or things who are creating this and if so, how to handle it?
Answer these then you will find your way
Please always remember when one project goes, another comes in and you start putting in your efforts and work, the only thing counts you and you alone. You want a change then you have to take the following steps.
You cannot change anything unless you want to. Life is a beautiful and wonderful Journey. Living is what life is all about. Follow very simple Mantra of life "Stay Focused Stay Calm ". Sometime back I saw an ad for an Insurance company (if am right) it says “Life is too good to be spent worrying". How true these words are. In IT, life is all about satisfying others. It has become a part and parcel of the industry. But, at end of the day, we all need to return home and see our people. Pressures in office will make the home a bad place to live and any place you go. So, act now before it’s too late.
So, what can be the solution for this is a big question which everyone tries to find out an answer for. Everybody has their way of handling pressure, but which is the right approach and how are we going to adopt it? Is Pressure & Stress Measurable? maybe or may not be. Do we need to put a strategy and planning process and show the teams on how to handle pressure? May be we should, as leads we have to take the responsibility of showing our peers how to do things. First and foremost have trust in the ability of your team and peers. Please don’t create a war scenario inside the team or rather in the project. We are Tech-Engineers who help in connecting people not soldiers and our team members, or peers are not our enemies. They are part of one big family. Have a casual chat. Reach out to peers. Be more accessible to them. “Be the person they look up for! Be the Leader don’t be a Boss!” I remember this famous phrasing of Coffee Day “Anything can happen over a cup of coffee”. So let’s work together. Read More
Bust the Stress
Let’s deal with this in a more easy approach as no rocket science is needed here. Just make it simple!
To achieve this we need to
- Start analyzing the job
- Devise a strategy for doing the work
- Estimate the size of the products to build and then make a plan. Because I believe unrealistic schedules are the principal cause of software project problems
- Help teams manage their projects more effectively
- Taking responsibility for improving your physical and emotional well-being
- Avoiding pitfalls by identifying knee jerk habits and negative attitudes that add to the stress you experience at work
- Learning better communication skills to ease and improve your relationships with management and coworkers
- Shed ego, Spread Empathy
When they are able to manage their work, teams are much more likely to do a quality job.
A Question to Think about!
Is it really worth so much that we stress & strain and lose our health and mind for something that has a diminishing value?
Think about it!
About the Author
L. Sowmya Narayanan is a Qualified IT Professional with over 25 years' overall experience in Software Testing, Project Management, Digital Marketing, Content Management. He is an effective communicator with Excellent Relationship Management, Analytical, co-ordination, and Problem-Solving Skills.