How do executives deal with the stress

JAKARTA (JP): In general, the two types of people who regularly work long, arduous hours are sweat shop workers and executives.

Both work very hard. The difference is the laborers mainly depend on their physical strength, while the executives tax their brains. Executives carry a heavy burden of responsibility. Just one wrong move, a single lapse in judgment, can destroy years of endeavor and send a corporation toppling.

Little wonder stress is part and parcel of daily life for executives in making crucial decisions.

"Stress is just natural," says Herlina Chandra, director of Ongko Securities. "I think everybody must have stress sometime in their life.

"I experience stress if I have to have things done before a tight deadline," the 31-year-old said. "For example, when I had to submit the Initial Public Offering after I received several orders (at the same time)."

Herlina unwinds watching movies, visiting cafes or window shopping in malls.

"Sometimes I even go to the Dufan," she said, referring to the Fantasy Land recreation park in Ancol, North Jakarta.

Herlina arrives at the office at about 7:30 a.m., half an hour before she starts work. She works an average of 10 to 12 hours a day.

She usually goes to bed between 11 p.m. and midnight. She wakes up at about 5:30 a.m. and does a light 15-minute workout in her yard. In addition, she drinks a lot of water to keep her body healthy.

Molek Suryanti, 27, purchasing manager of the Bali Jeff Group, also likes to go to the movies, and spends two or three hours in a pub or discotheque at the weekends.

"But I haven't seen any movie in the last three months. I have lots of work to do," she said.

Molek arrives at the office between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. in the morning for a 12-hour work day. But she occasionally has to work until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m.

"Sometimes I feel tired and bored. I don't know if this is what you call stress."

Molek, who directly oversees seven other employees, admitted she sometimes gets angry at them, especially when they fail to complete assignments on time.

"I yell at them. But then we laugh again, everything is forgotten and we work together as usual," she said.

Molek says it is important to vent her emotions instead of keeping them pent up. She sometimes has take responsibility for her own mistakes with her boss.

"I always apologize if I do something wrong. He might be angry, but this will not last long. He's very kind."

She believes that attempting to cover up an error is useless, and may snowball into an even bigger problem when the lies are uncovered.

Molek recently consulted a dermatologist about an outbreak of pimples on her face.

"He told me it happened because I was stressed, and he suggested that I take a break to refresh myself.

"But I'm not sure it was stress, I think it was because I did not have enough sleep."

Regular sleep is indeed important for keeping healthy and warding off stress, says Harry Sasongko, a director of Bank Tiara. He sleeps seven to eight hours every day and claims he never experiences stress.

Of course, he also relaxes by playing golf regularly and dining out with friends or family.

A member of three golf clubs, Harry tees off on Saturday mornings with friends or clients. "It's good to discuss business matters in a casual atmosphere," he said.

The father of two eats out with his family or friends at star- rated hotels almost every week. He occasionally visits a pub.

Harry retains a serious demeanor in the office.

"Do your best, be serious at work and delegate part of the job to your subordinates. It's very important to give them authority and the independence to do things."

He sometimes becomes frustrated, but he has his own coping mechanism. "Well, sometimes I get angry, but I don't stress out about problems," he said. "See, not one gray hair on my head." (sim)