From discussions among employees to formal debates in the newsrooms, work hours have often stirred numerous discussions around the world. But when do regular work hours turn into overtime and put an individual under excessive mental pressure?

Occasionally being asked to stay for a few extra hours at work is fine, or attending your office on a weekend once in a while to serve an urgency may seem acceptable to some. However, when you see the lines between your personal and professional life completely blurring away because of your work, then clearly staying till late in your cubicle is largely consuming your life and might soon leave you entirely burned out.

Now, before we find ways to humbly say ‘no’ to overtime, what are a few strategies to navigate through high work-pressure conditions?

Munira Loliwala, AVP- Strategy and Growth, TeamLease Digital, a platform that offers technology staffing services, says that today’s workforce is dealing with the perceptions of work-related stress. Employees nowadays build strategies to manage the pressure to be 100% available and 100% committed to work rather than output or productivity. Instead, she says that the route to a healthier & more engaging partnership with your organisation is balancing your work stress and avoiding a burn-out. Statistics state that an employee burn-out impacts 15% of overall team productivity at any workplace.

In her opinion, winning the “Ideal Worker” title is the shortest road to burnout. As individuals stand at the intersection of rapid technological advancement and the apparent waning of human well-being, it is imperative to find a more reasonable and navigable middle ground, adds Loliwala.

She further suggests 3 simple strategies for managing and surviving through high-intensity workplaces, without putting your mental health at risk:

1. Choosing the right demands – First, Loliwala says one needs to learn the skill of prioritising and managing tasks/challenges to meet the intense demanding conditions and deadlines at work. And we couldn’t agree more as taking up everything simultaneously can only result in mental as well as physical exhaustion.
2. Stay focused – Next, she advises individuals to stay focused on their lead parameters (measurable output) and avoid being dragged down by lagging parameters at work. In other words, the key is to maintain productivity by overcoming challenges and distractions.
3. Develop your own multifaceted identity – Define your broad focus in your professional and personal life. Indulging in multiple activities such as athletics, health, music, and social service along with doing your work can help bolster your motivation levels, she concludes.

While these strategies might help you become better at handling high-pressure tasks at work or restoring a balance in your personal and professional space, the call is a personal one for each person whether one navigates through it, or politely says no to the request of increasing the work hours.