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Mayank

Mayank Rautela  |236 Answers  |Ask -

HR Expert - Answered on Feb 23, 2023

Mayank Rautela is the group chief human resources officer at Care Hospitals.
A management graduate from the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies with a master's degree in labour laws from Pune University, Rautela has over 20 years of experience in general management, strategic human resources, global mergers and integrations and change management.... more
Abhrajit Question by Abhrajit on Feb 12, 2023Hindi
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I am working last 7 years in a PSU in Logistics at my home location where my personal life is pretty much organized in terms of wife's workplace, son education. However I am not seeing any growth perspective and work environment is detoriating day by day. Work pressure and long hours is impacting my personal life. I have been trying for jobs outside but working in a PSU setup has disconnected me from corporation world. I am going into depression unable to understand what to do. I am totally unable to understand how to make things change

Ans: You should explore new avenues and see what works for you. But pls remember that happiness comes from within so take care of your physical and psychological health
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Mayank

Mayank Rautela  |236 Answers  |Ask -

HR Expert - Answered on Apr 07, 2021

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Hi Mayank,I was going through this article Struggling with your career? and it prompted me to write this email.I am Kalpesh Desai, aged 45, working with an MNC as project manager in Mumbai.I feel I have reached a kind of dead-end and am unable to crack that due to office politics, coupled with my inability to say ‘Yes boss’ everywhere and my poor marketing skills as far as my own work is concerned.I am bad at speaking lies and I am process oriented. This just adds to my woes.I feel I end up being used without getting recognised.Changing jobs seems to be easy option but does not guarantee a better situation in future jobs. Kindly share insights on how to come out of this.Warm regards,Kalpesh Desai
Ans:

Dear Kalpesh,

Many of us face this situation in this stage of our careers.

It’s something I have faced as well.

I can share what I have learnt from my experience; I hope it will help you.

1. Reinvent yourself. Upgrade your competencies; take up some courses in your field from a reputed institute.

2. Set clear goals and expectations with your manager. You don't have to be a 'yes man', but you must be aligned with the goals of your manager and the organisation at large.

3. Have a career discussion with your manager. Clearly express what you are looking for in your career and what help you need from the management.

4. Move out of your core area of functioning. For example, you could move from project management to analytics, strategy or even sales.

5. Ensure that you have a good financial plan to secure the future of your family.

(more)
Mayank

Mayank Rautela  |236 Answers  |Ask -

HR Expert - Answered on Aug 17, 2021

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Dear Mayank,I am engineering graduate with 10+ years of experience in data centre operations.I have been working for an MNC for the last four years. The company is very good but I am not happy with my professional and personal growth.I am mentioning some issues which I feel restrict me from going ahead in my life and growing in my career.1. I come under pressure immediately. It could be because I want to make everyone happy.2. I get confused a lot. Although I have complete belief on my skills and strengths yet, sometimes, it feels like I am nothing.3. I forgot things very soon because of which I have to work really hard.4. Sometime, it feels that I am getting hopeless with things.5. I have a fluctuating mind. I have to make great effort to be focused.6. I cannot manage my time due to all this. As a result, neither my boss nor my family is happy.It would be great to have your guidance in solving these problems.Thanks and regards,Name withheld on request.
Ans:

Hi.

These are some practical things you can do to help you resolve most of the issues you shared.

1. Start your day early with some positive thoughts and physical activity. The way you begin your day determines how the rest of the day will go.

2. Spend quality time with your family.

3. Do practise some meditation or yoga as that will help you increase your concentration.

4. Keep your cell phone away from you when at work; check it once, for five minutes, every hour.

5. Find a good mentor at work with whom you can share your concerns openly.

6. Engage in your hobbies.

7. Get good quality sleep.

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Anu

Anu Krishna  |773 Answers  |Ask -

Relationships Expert, Mind Coach - Answered on Dec 14, 2022

Relationship
Hi, Sorry, my story is long.I'm 43 years old. My life's been on a crazy downside since the last 3 years. I lost my job a year before Covid. I worked with my last company for over 10 years. In my initial phase I developed and introduced a high-tech animated presentation that the sales team used. This gave my career a boost quickly and I got timely promotions, more responsibilities.I worked 12-18 hours on many occasions. When my boss came to know that my wife and I are going to have a baby, he even gave me an advance appraisal. From earning 3 lakhs a year, my last drawn salary was 21 lakhs a year.Things were going good until I was diagnosed with diabetes. It gave me a real scare and I started taking all the precautionary measures like timely food, timely workout and my focus on the job was only as much as it was needed. I couldn't go overboard working 12-18 hours like I used to. This didn't go down with many of my seniors and especially my boss.I remember, initially he gave me a long-term work from home opportunity. That too was going well but suddenly it was stopped as many colleagues started asking for the same and the company was not ready for this change on a large scale back then.By then the company had ventured into too many online businesses and verticals and they got me to hire 40-45 designers. Suddenly they realized that handling so many things wasn't working for them as the profit margins decreased. Now they wanted me to fire people on the basis of performance. Unwantedly I had to do that. Laying off people who were marginally falling short than others was bad.In between one of the incidents I saw my boss yell at me for no reason. He wanted the team to source a large number of images for the website. He had verbally asked me to utilize everyone on the floor to get the job done. Me being me, I wrote an e-mail officially assigning small tasks to a number of people on the floor. However there was no formal communication from the boss that gave me authority over others and to get others who were not a part of my team to get involved in that project. This was not an easy task as his perspective and other people's perspectives didn't match. The job went on slow and my boss got angry. He came to my cabin and gave me a big scare using foul language which must have been audible even outside to others. And mind you I was not at fault. This incident made me scared and doubtful of myself.I could never face my boss again. Whenever he was in office I would not come face to face with him. My interaction with him soon became zero. The appraisals were below par. The amount of work I used to get, got diverted to my juniors directly, bypassing me. And soon they asked to resign. I got 3 months compensation. But, after that, I couldn't really find another job as I feel I am not capable of handling stuff. I feel I will fail. I have tried to psyche myself into positivity but I can't.While I have noticed that as a freelancer, I have successfully handled many projects in the past 4 years and clients have been happy. It's only that I am very uncomfortable working in an office environment. That corporate culture for me is like a HORROR movie. Now the scenario is such that my projects in hand have reduced. I think I don't have the business acumen. It's becoming tougher to find new clients. I have applied to literally 1000 places but no one's taking the GAP in the jobs well. That's my guess. I'm more of a hands-on worker than a manager so I also applied for junior positions but I've had literally no luck.My wife has throughout these 4 years supported me and my freelance ventures. We have one kid who's 11 years old and can understand the situation even without us explaining it to him. When we got married, my mother-in-law was much older than my parents were, we decided to stay with her initially and it's been 14 years since we started staying here. We save on rent. Things were good when I had a well-paying job but now my wife's had to shell out a lot for the day-to-day expenses. Now, she keeps asking why I am unable to find a job. How much is she going to have to shell out? My savings have depleted, now hers too. I am ashamed of asking her to pay for stuff every month but my situation makes it compulsory. I have two loan EMIs, and our monthly expenses which we pay through credit card usually. But I don't have adequate income. Somehow, my wife thinks that the kind of lifestyle she has always led and what she has visualized is something she'll have to stick to. Even though we stay in a bungalow, the finances are not exactly alright. The colony where we live is full of crorepatis and my wife thinks that she has to maintain her lifestyle otherwise the kids outside will not be fair to our kid. They will tease him. The kids here are such that they compare a lot -- your house, my house, your car, my car etc.Of late we have been fighting a lot. She's always been stressed with my joblessness, my son's studies. She ends up scolding him too much and generally remains in a bad mood. I won't hide the fact that I have faced a lot of insults lately and some of them in front of my kid. Basically whenever my wife and I have an argument, she always ends it by mentioning the amount of money she has spent on the family and my joblessness. Add to it the fact that I am staying at her place. I can never have any further argument. It's like her Brahmastra.I used to be very patient when things were fine. Now, even I get agitated in no time. I'm one confused soul at the moment. I'm not outgoing, I'm very shy when it comes to new people. I've been watching a lot of videos about gaining self-confidence. But practical things do not really work out the way I think. My freelance venture failed. My e-commerce venture failed. Basically whatever I do, fails. It's that kind of a phase in my life when everything just goes wrong. I'm not a suicidal person and I want to spend a lot of time with my family yet. I'm just not sure now what to do. How to get my confidence back? Is there a thing called bad luck? Is this spiritual? Will things ever come back to normal?P.S. I have personally spoken to many people in my friends’ circle and clients circle and told them that I am looking for a job. Hoping that something materializes. But in the meantime, whatever I wrote above are things that I can't speak about to anyone.P.S.2 There's a pattern. My father was jobless after 40. So am I. He struggled a lot in his life and did whatever he could to give us the best. I'm trying hard too but I feel I am losing it. I don't want my child to face these kinds of things in his future. I hope this bad luck doesn't pass on.
Ans:

Dear R,

Let’s bring it down simply into Health, Work and Marriage. And of course, your added element of superstitions that aren’t helping anyway.

You were absolutely right in taking care of your health and reworking your work timings.

If the boss doesn’t care about that, well then you are stuck with a boss whose appraisal on you will be based on the number of hours v/s actual output of work.

I know you cannot choose your boss, but being led by someone like this isn’t going to let you grow either. So, whether you choose to work as a freelancer or within an office, do make sure that you are surrounded by people that can fuel your growth.

If that’s not possible always, work your mind to a point of strength where you hold fort and not allow yourself to be a pawn like you did with you boss.

With your personal story, your wife did support you when she did and maybe the lifestyle is something that is used to.

Isn’t it time for the two of you to actually talk about the future. Instead of allowing life to take you over, ever thought of setting a strong goal as a family where everyone is involved in each other’s success journey?

So, she perhaps does not understand what it means to still live with her mother, what it means for her to have a husband with a steady job, what it means to you to keep your health at its peak!

When you both don’t understand what things mean to each other, you will be caught in crossfires and not support one another. So TALK and COMMUNICATE. And if all superstitions were to be believed, we could hunt all the black cats down and hold them captives OR not walk outside for fear of them crossing our paths.

It’s just your mind mapping on this low phase into today.

What happened with your father and you repeating with you and your son becomes true only when you don’t take charge of your life now and do something different. So, think and act different and more usefully.

Create a better life. All the best!

(more)
Krishna

Krishna Kumar  |177 Answers  |Ask -

Workplace Expert - Answered on Feb 19, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Feb 19, 2024Hindi
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Dear Mr. Krishna Kumar....This is sandhu here....I have been working in the logistics industry for about 25 years. My initial requirement was to learn from the front end since I was working in the back operations...hence I moved on to another county worked in 2 companies a freight forwarder and a distributor...and I am now working in the gulf with the second company (Distributor of world-class brand in electronics ) for about 17 years and growth seems to be completely stalled in terms of position. I am right now in a middle management position however looking for management position for about 17 years but does not seem to be working. Really do not know what should I do and looking for more expert advise...should I change to teaching filed....I am completely stationary in terms of growth prospects.
Ans: Dear Mr.Sandhu

Feeling stagnated in work or life is a normal that we all need to embrace. Many a times this feeling comes more out of peer pressure than our own.

Firstly, please define what growth means to you...role & responsibilities, position, salary, team size, value creation.

Secondly, do an honest assessment for self in each of the above areas and see where you think you are not growing.

Thirdly, ask yourself what is it that you want to do, if you feel for teaching then go for it but if it is a compromise because you feel you are not growing then I would suggest don't.

Fourthly, take up some courses that can enhance your skill sets.

Lastly, assess your own needs and wants at the stage of life you are in, talk to your family and see if what you have is good enough to live a peaceful and contented life.

All the best.
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Ashwini

Ashwini Dasgupta  |60 Answers  |Ask -

Personality Development Expert, Career Coach - Answered on Feb 29, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Feb 28, 2024Hindi
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Hello, I am a supply chain professional having 8 years of logistics experience in the core operations domain working as Associate manager.For quite a long time I have been looking for a job change as in the current organisation I am not getting anything fascinating to move further.in the current organisation I have been working for 5 years and promoted 2 times. Not getting of any better opportunity to boost my career thereby to enhance my skills has become the reason for a poor mental health now a days. Pls suggest me something that can lead to postive approach for a better way out. Thanks.
Ans: Hi Sir/ Madam,

Always changing a job may not be the solution.
Firstly have a conversation with your manager and voice out your aspiration and what will keep you motivate.
List out the kind of courses or trainings you may want to pursue to enhance your professional experience. And see if these trainings are done internally or if yes take up those trainings and if it externally you can decide accordingly. This will help you learn a new skills and drift your thought of been dis motivated. Mostly importantly learning a new will only do good for your career opportunity.
If incase there are no roles within the team then you may look for within organizational roles to meet your ask.
Do some research how the industry is trending this will help you more equipped when you those conversations with your manager.

Hope this helps. All the best

Thanks
Ashwini Dasgupta
Author of Confidence Decoded. Is it a Skill or Attitude?
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Hi Sushil. My daughter is planning to do MS from US. She has got acceptance from two universities and waiting from one more. Meanwhile, I have approached bank for loan. Their list of documents require I20, whereas for I20 I have to show finance. How to solve this? Secondly, the fee estimate of University shows only for one year ( spring and fall), How can I show the requirement for two years to Bank? No.3: Whether cash in account to be shown while applying for VISA or bank loan also will do? Sorry I have asked lot of questions.
Ans: Hello R. It is great that your daughter has been accepted by a couple of universities in the US. To answer your question first, generally, banks do ask for I-20 to process the loan application; however, a few banks or NBFCs, e.g., HDFC Credila, could issue a loan sanction letter on the basis of the offer letter issued. You could use this sanction letter to call for the I20, provided the university is accepting the letter, or show the required funds in your savings account, provide a bank certificate, and then call for the I20.Expenses to be shown in the bank certificate or savings account to call for the I20 are for a year, which includes the total of tuition, food, accommodation, and miscellaneous [if any]. I20 will show expenses for 9 or 12 months; however, it will also clearly mention the start and end dates of the course, which would help the bank know the total duration of the course and accordingly sanction the loan amount will be sanctioned. Yes, both the savings account and the education loan letter could be used during the visa interview.

For further assistance, you can get in touch with us
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Krishna

Krishna Kumar  |177 Answers  |Ask -

Workplace Expert - Answered on Mar 29, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Mar 29, 2024Hindi
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Career
I was doing Business for past 23 years and have been succesful in that.. After COVID my business fell apart and I am trying to regain the foothold. Although I have created a good brand, I am not able to make the Money I was making earlier. However the buisness is picking up and I knew If I could have little more patience, I will make it. However the situation demands lot of financial requirements for my lifestyle and family. They are insisiting me to go for a Job now. My business is stagnent for past few years and it is slowly showing the signs of growth now.. I do not want any waiting time due to pressing needs. I am 49 Now.. I am not sure if applying for work at this age will help as I have no idea on the Job market.. I am getting very good offers on selling my Business. Kindly advice.
Ans: Dear

There are two parts.

Emotional...how you feel attached to your business.

Rational: your financial needs and the revenue that your business is generating.

Any advise us a function of both the above aspects. Unless one knows the current revenue numbers, growth potential of the business, competition and several such factors it's not possible to share any guidance.

Hence may I suggest you talk to your CA and other colleagues of yours, look at the numbers in hard way and then take a call.

Emotional aspect can be both strength and liability... strength because it will inspire you to make business grow... liability because you may be overtly attached to your business without looking at the financial realities.

All the best.
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Dr Shakeeb Ahmed

Dr Shakeeb Ahmed Khan  |34 Answers  |Ask -

Physiotherapist - Answered on Mar 29, 2024

Asked by Anonymous - Mar 28, 2024Hindi
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Health
Sir im 36 yrs of age weighing 107 kgs and I regularly walk which helps in maintaining my weight but im unable to reduce belly fats. I walk approx 4 kms daily within 30 minutes .
Ans: Thank you for your inquiry. I appreciate your dedication to maintaining a consistent walking routine for weight management. However, if you're specifically aiming to reduce belly fat, it might be beneficial to incorporate additional methods into your regimen.

While walking is great for overall health and weight control, integrating strength training exercises can be instrumental in building muscle mass and boosting metabolism, thereby facilitating greater fat loss, including targeting belly fat. Incorporate exercises such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and abdominal workouts like crunches or planks.

To enhance the effectiveness of your walking routine, consider adding intervals of higher intensity. This might entail alternating between periods of brisk walking and intervals of more vigorous effort, such as walking uphill or increasing your pace to a jog for brief durations. This approach can elevate calorie expenditure and promote fat burning.

In terms of nutrition, it's crucial to pay close attention to your dietary habits, as they significantly impact fat loss. Prioritize a well-rounded diet rich in whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains, while minimizing intake of processed foods, sugary beverages, and excessive calories, which can contribute to belly fat accumulation. Additionally, consider reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing protein consumption in consultation with a registered dietitian for personalized guidance.

Overall, by incorporating these strategies alongside your walking routine, you can optimize your efforts towards reducing belly fat and improving overall health.
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