A young CA succumbs to work stress - Reflecting on how Work-life-balance IS a personal choice

A young Chartered Accountant, Anna Sebastian Perayil died, supposedly due to overwork. Here's EY India boss on employee Anna Sebastian Perayil's death: 'Don’t believe work pressure claimed her life'

Work-life-balance IS a personal choice

In my decades long career in corporate world, I have never been a workaholic but have worked with many such managers. I learnt to stick my personal balance early on 

If you are like me, you've got to remember the basics 

• Ignore it when your managers quotes leaders like Narayana Murthy when they preach about "70 hour workweek" 
• That's not everyone’s cup of tea
• Your health is the most precious asset you have 
• Listen to your body – it will send clear signs to if it is on the verge of a breakdown
• You are dispensable in a job; and some managers will let you go if you aren’t a workaholic like them 

Remember, you are free to chose a job that fits your personal goals and health

Some people are workaholics

Some people can take on more stress than others - For instance, those recruited as marine commandos in military or a few managers in the corporate world like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk who tweets night and day in addition to designing EVs and rockets

Some business leaders are willing to sacrifice everything for a professional goal

• Be ready with a suitcase packed to travel 3-4 times a month
• Be ready for calls and meetings any time of the day or night

The rewards are tremendous – fast track promotions, making a EY or Big-5 Partner at 30, ESOPs and bonuses, bragging rights for parents etc etc

Youngsters planning to emigrate from India should watch Aadujeevitham and Dunki first

The two movies Aadujeevitham and Dunki hold a mirror to the desperation some Indian youth have to get out of India and seek opportunities in foreign shores. Such moves can sometimes backfire as the movies vividly portray. 

Drama in Real life - Aadujeevitham or The Goat Life is a 2024 Malayalam-language survival drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Blessy. It is an adaptation of the 2008 best-selling Malayalam novel Aadujeevitham by Benyamin, which is based on the real-life story of Najeeb, a Malayali immigrant laborer, one among thousands of Indians who were forced into slavery in Saudi Arabia as goatherds on secluded farms in the deserts by the native Arabs.

Reflections on 5 years as an Enterprise Architect at a multinational

A few days ago, I was reflecting on completing five years as an Enterprise Architecture (EA) for a multinational, Medtronic. The tenure has been dynamic

• I was hired into an Offshore Development Center (ODC) when it was in a growth trajectory. 
• I had a dual focus – building teams in ODC and enabling Business Partners in Asia Pacific
• Strategy shifted when the leaders decided to outsource the ODC to a vendor
• My focus continued to be on APAC working with global EAs 
• CIO left the organization - Global EA function was disbanded. A few roles eliminated while others (including me) remained focused on our domains and regions 
• A new CIO came on board 
• The company hired another EA Leader who is bringing global teams together 
•  The new CIO wants has a mandate to resurrect the ODC strategy in India, coming a full circle

While riding waves of internal changes, the  business continues to digitize and there is a continuum of technology evaluation and investments in roadmap realization. I continue to be the ‘trusted technology advisor’ to my stakeholders and business partners.

This also brings back the key question Architects sometimes muse about

What is the average tenure of an EA?

Every new functional leader, CxO and CIO will want to leave their footprint in the organization. An EA will either align with the changes or look for greener pastures  

• Some EAs will seize transformations and take on other internal roles  
• Some will move to other organizations looking for roles that align with their personal aspirations
• A few may continue a longer tenure focused on their work-life balance 

There is no set tenure, and it really depends on the organization and individual’s alignment with the changes