That advertising is a killer profession is something known to all of us for quite some time. Demanding clients, strict deadlines, late nights, extensive interpersonal communication and competition (read: socialising, egos), make for a potent combination, leading to burn out, ulcers and sometimes, even heart attacks.

Now welcome to the world of television. A survey carried out between mid-January and early February 2002 on indiantelevision.com, has revealed that executives working in television believe that they are living highly stressed lives. The survey asked visitors to vote on whether they were overstressed. The options given to them were Yes, No and Can't say.

A majority of them - 74 per cent to be precise - said Yes, 19 per cent were No! and six per cent said they could not say. Altogether 349 votes were cast. There's a message for television channels and production houses in the poll.

Stress is driving most professionals up the wall, particularly in the last couple of years. Although the phenomenon has not been studied or analysed thus far, a wide variety of TV professionals agree that a recessionary economy, rising levels of competition, higher incidence of layoffs and tight schedules inherent to the field are playing havoc with their lives.

"Unless one consciously takes time off for oneself and family, one stands the risk of losing one's sanity," says Sameera Kohli, head of business development at Inhouse Productions.

The pressures are not telling only on executives; actors, writers, directors, technicians, editors - the entire spectrum of those working in TV is afflicted. Industrial psychologist Venkatesh Iyer says the malady is manifesting itself in depression, substance abuse and marital conflict. As a popular artiste remarks, "There's no time even to fall ill in this profession."

Tight budgets, resulting in tighter schedules and strict deadlines require professionals to work long hours, often even on weekends. Networking is also an essential aspect of the industry, which eats into social life.

"I rarely make commitments to my family, because I know I will have to skip them at the last minute," says Shivaji Phulsundar, head of programming at Doordarshan, Mumbai.

Agrees clinical psychologist Kuldeep Datay, "Stress in this industry is induced by constraints imposed on personal career goals and expectations." Based on their observations, Iyer and Datay say stress symptoms arising out of the chase for TRPs are often covered up as eccentricities, not considered unusual for people in this profession.

The Indiantelevision.com eye opening survey on Stress in the Television business

The duo have listed some reasons for stress in television land -

• The profession becomes a lifestyle rather than a just a job.
• Compartmentalisation between viewer and the creator builds up and alienation tends to increase.
• Constant deadlines and instant evaluations are a distinction of this industry, which can lead to an emotional roller coaster ride of the people involved. Thus, agony of failure and ecstasy of success become everyday occurrences
• Knee jerk reactions are constantly demanded.
• Unpredictable, astounding and dramatic factors to attract viewer attention is constantly needed, requiring professionals to constantly think and act differently to suit this need.
• These professionals are supposed to remain just there, and task orientation becomes paramount and the humanness of the professionals or people orientation decreases or is even absent.
• Multiple audience demands, multitudes of channels combating for TRPs, living in the limelight, where their products evoke strong reactions, especially in a diverse country like India where unwritten rules are the norm and not the exception.
• Breaking the pattern becomes paramount to initiate attention and then stabilizing enough to maintain the interest turn into conflicting objectives. This tight rope walking become arduous where success is revered and failure abhorred.
• Compared to other high stress professions like advertising, health services, financial management, crime fighting, the TV industry which exploded in India just a decade ago, is still struggling to find a structure and niche.
  

Professionals like Kohli blame the recession for the havoc the tight schedules are playing on their nerves. "One off shows are fine; but ongoing TV shows can be really killing," she says. On the other hand, artistes say they have it even worse.

"Tighter budgets mean producers try to extract more work from actors," says actor Gajendra Chauhan, who is currently working for BR Chopra's Ramayan on Zee. Chauhan says an average shooting day comprises 13 gruelling hours of being before the camera and on location. Producers these days are loath to bank episodes as channels determine a serial's longevity on the ratings, requiring rigorous shooting throughout the week for an episode that's to be aired on the coming weekend.

The time lag of 120 days for actors' payment also takes a toll on artistes who are not so well off, adding to higher stress levels. "The entire chain of channel, advertisers, production houses has become insecure in the last couple of years," he says, "forcing everyone to run harder to stay where they were."

For the television executives, says Datay, dependence of various outside sources like the movies, advertisements, and linguistic, political and cultural barriers make decision making more difficult. Past experience and training are virtually non existent and one needs to make one's own rules and chart out new routes in this industry. Says Phulsundar: "Accountability is instantly judged on television unlike in other fields. Most of the time, we carry the work home - in our minds!"

The stakes are high in the television business with salaries being extremely mouthwatering, especially in television channels like Star and Sony Entertainment. At the senior level, they run into crores of salaries each year. Hence, the pressure to deliver is immense. Bonuses if targets are achieved further add to the rat race.

Additionally, television - like advertising has members of the both the sexes - employed at every level. And because of the nature of the business, both female and male executives work closely with each other, in high pressured environments through the day and often even late into the night. The television industry makes for a good ground for extra marital dalliances, which can put pressure on relationships, that can further put a strain on the marriage and on the individuals who wonder what went wrong. Indiantelevision.com believes that the divorce ratio in the television business is likely to see a rise in the coming years. Something that managements have to keep a look out for.

Often, says Dr Iyer, a "macho mentality" pervades in the competitive professional organisations. If a person complains about incapability to handle the excess workload and mental strain that accompanies it, he/she is perceived as weak minded. Consequently, there is a tendency to suppress pain and problems.

Says a news channel professional: "Stress here is definitely more than other channels. Here you have to meet the deadlines before the news become old and irrelevant unlike entertainment channels where the programmes are first produced and then scheduled for telecast."

Self-denial for actors and executives starting out on a career in television is a common phenomenon, say the psychologists. The excess baggage of stress they carry is taken as a recompense for the celebrity status that they expect to encounter later in life.

Not much of planning and introspection is invested to finding a meaningful balance between work and other life activities, and the task-oriented coping skills developed so far, often get in the way of this search, they aver. Apart from inculcating this, a sense of humour too is vital, say doctors. Inhibitions that increase as one rises in the social hierarchy need to be shrugged off sometime. Doses of humour and spontaneity are needed to be injected into life too, they say. Emotional goals need to be set down as clearly as career goals.

This includes a range of options from, saying a firm "NO" to some professional intrusions in your personal life to trying to achieve geographical proximity in all activity centres. The doctors also recommended professionals giving themselves occasional liberty of "absolute lazy moments".

Here are a few of the doctors' tips to help the demon within-

• Pick your priorities, and then do what's important first
• Don't be a slave to other people's schedules
• If you're bored, do something to recharge your interest
• If your job is too stressful, renegotiate your workload
• Find a buddy you trust, and blow off steam
• Relaxation / Meditation
• Realistic Expectations
• Re-evaluate your lifestyle priorities.
• Don't ignore physical symptoms of stress.
• Slow down
• Realise that you're not perfect
• Attend a stress management seminar.
• Talk with a trained counselor
  
  

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