A few years ago, James Green began to dread work. He dragged himself out of bed every morning and plodded through New York’s Pen

admin2015-02-09  27

问题     A few years ago, James Green began to dread work. He dragged himself out of bed every morning and plodded through New York’s Penn Station, trying to manage a "game face" for his office at Giant Realm, an online advertising network. But Mr. Green wasn’t just any manager at the company; he was the CEO. And he was burned out on the job.
    Companies and managers are equipped to handle job fatigue among employees, but what happens when burnout—described as persistent fatigue, detachment or resentment triggered by excessive work and stress—strikes the top boss?
    More companies might soon find out. An uncertain economy, shareholder discontent and mounting expectations to deliver results have made the lives of chief executives more stressful, management experts say. And while few executives publicly acknowledge burnout, researchers studying the issue say it is more common than previously thought. In one study conducted by Harvard Medical School faculty, 96% of senior leaders reported feeling burned out to some degree, with one-third describing their burnout as extreme.
    Burned-out bosses complain of lost focus and mental clarity, and feelings that they’re always behind. Company performance can suffer as they struggle to make decisions or treat staff fairly, according to management and medical experts. Yet HR departments usually assume, wrongly, that CEOs and other senior executives "have it together."
    For Mr. Green, a turnaround specialist who spent a decade reviving struggling firms and preparing them for sale, firing hundreds of workers and answering investor demands left him feeling hollow. But he kept that to himself. "If you want to be a real leader, you can’t go around being emotionally unstable," he says. Eventually, the 51-year-old executive said he felt he "just had to check out."
    Taking time off to travel or sail is a common fantasy among executives, but leaves aren’t a sure fix for burnout, says Gabriela Cord, a psychiatrist and author of "Leading Under Pressure." Dr. Cora, who has treated some executive patients, generally recommends sleep, exercise and sometimes prescription medication, such as antidepressants.
    Preventing burnout is one focus of a recently launched Harvard Business School workshop for executives at a career crossroads. John Davis, an HBS management professor and faculty chair of the Crossroads Program, says many bosses lack "good thermostats" for gauging their levels of fatigue. What’s more, the executives say they simply can’t afford to step off the "treadmill" to solve the problem, he adds. But just as Frits van Paasschen, CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. says, "The energy comes from somewhere—you draw down from a bank, and at some point you have to put it back in."
To which of the following would John Davis most probably agree?

选项 A、Taking time off can not avoid or fix burnout for sure.
B、Many bosses are quite concerned about job fatigue.
C、Managers have strived to prevent burnout but in vain.
D、Many CEOs may not know their burnout levels at all.

答案D

解析 最后一段第2句话指出:约翰·戴维斯认为许多老板缺少“好的恒温器”来测量他们的疲劳程度(levels of fatigue),由此可以推断D项“许多总裁可能根本不清楚自己的疲劳程度”是正确选项。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/TsMRFFFM
0

最新回复(0)