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Having
spent the last few years in decline, with firms laying off hundreds
of consultants, the future for consulting now looks rosy –
but what about those shed-loads of working hours just waiting
to descend?
According
to ‘Willing
Slaves: How the Overwork Culture is Ruling Our Lives’
(Madeline Bunting) consultants should go easy on the overwork
culture.
Long
hours a go-go
Consultancy
is well-known for punishing deadlines and long hours culture.
Even periods ‘on the bench’ don’t help recharge
those consulting batteries.
There’s
nothing worse than mooching round an empty office while colleagues
are away in Timbuktu, or even Scunthorpe.
In
her book, Ms Bunting says that the harder people work, the more
intense the desire to find escape through consumerism.
This
can create a high earning requirement spiral, with consequent
heavy work pressures and need for retail therapy.
She
believes our sense of self is 'bound up with our sense of control
and impact', going on to describe how work has absorbed our
‘project of the self’. In doing so it marginalises
all other attempts at fulfillment, 'such as the passion of the
amateur'.
Consultants
get a special mention in her book. Because our ‘project
of the self’ is never complete, there is no rest. 'Always
riddled with anxieties and insecurities…you’re only
ever as good as your last assignment.'
Labels
a no-no
brains2go
spoke to Diana Pringle, management consultant turned existential
psychotherapist, about her experiences of the consultant personality.
She
recognises the long hours, high adrenalin, derring-do culture
and said that being 'on the bench', as a non-earning overhead,
can provoke anxiety.
Ms
Bunting's book says: 'Such a rollercoaster ride is a classic
description of addictive behaviour.' But Ms Pringle’s
message is clear: 'Don’t pathologise behaviour –
it’s only a problem if people are unhappy about their
lives.
'There
are many different ways to live and we make different choices
at different life stages,' she said.
Ms
Pringle has met many people who work long hours but are content
with the amount of work they do, feeling stimulated, stretched
and fulfilled, but not overwhelmed.
How
people wind down is not necessarily bad – buying treats,
socialising with friends and so called ‘escapism’
all have their place.
Fantasy
consultants
'Our
work helps create meaning and structure in our lives,' said
Ms Pringle.
But
she acknowledges many consultants try to maintain a 'specialness'
fantasy of not being like other mortals - that they will continue
to be smart, powerful, healthy and important for ever.
Keeping
excessively busy in demanding work helps defend against anxiety
about the limits of human existence.
Ms
Pringle said: 'It’s important that people feel their work
and their lifestyle are freely chosen, and they acknowledge
that they create and choose their lives.
'Problems
can arise when people feel stuck, fall sick, experience bereavement,
or lose their jobs. All such life events can force a reckoning
with reality - or a flight into depression.'
Coming
to terms with your life
She
often counsels people who say: 'I feel at sea…I’ve
lost confidence in myself.'
These
clients are no longer certain about themselves or their direction.
Ms Pringle helps them come to terms with life, with the choices
they have made and the choices to be made.
Ms
Pringle aims to help clients live more honestly and fully. This
means accepting both their limits and freedom - and recapturing
some sense of wonder at the miracle of being.
Some
clients return with renewed vigour and commitment to their so-called
overworked life.
Consultants
and well-being
Perhaps
the answer is to retreat to a monastery or convent? Maybe a
little extreme for most but the key is to keep an eye out for
the symptoms of overload - and act before the heart attack.
‘Willing
Slaves: How the Overwork Culture is Ruling Our Lives’
by Madeline Bunting is published by Harper Collins.
June
2006
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Management
consultants
Overworked consultants
