Frustration

Live, love and toil with a will. For the clock may soon be still."

Various HR forums discuss issues such as work-life balance, business etiquettes, smart-working, Motivation, handling difficult customers,goal setting, inter-personal relations, facing failures with confidence, etc.

But one notable omission which is not directly addressed is Frustration, and which is eating heavily into the productivity levels of each employee, especially in large organisations, where one-to-one interaction, counselling or mentoring is done online or laid-down procedures These methods tend to be rather routine and  mechanical. In Indian conditions, unrelenting ambitions and unfulfilled aspirations / expectations, assume grave proportions in driving employees with dented morale and with disastrous consequences,

Oxford definition of Frustration is: prevent a plan or action from progressing or succeeding; prevent someone from doing or achieving something; and cause to feel dissatisfied. One major cause for employee discontent, obviously,  is Frustration.

This article aims to address these issues in the form of two beautiful stories which I found in the internet.

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason.. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day.. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

 Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he would ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:

"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."

STORY NUMBER TWO

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.

He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.

He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese Aircraft was speeding its way toward the American Fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes.. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.

Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of honour.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.

 SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER? Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son...

The consequences of frustration can be summed up based on the stories as well as real life incidents thus:

·         Everyone wants to be on the right side as early as possible

• Not only failure and perceived injustice but success can also be a contributory factor for frustration
• The guilt feeling of Eddie, the lawyer was responsible for his frustration even though he was very successful courtesy the gang leader, drove him to disclosure about the gang leader, of course, with dreadful consequences
• Skillset however good is no match for frustration and we hear about a lot of young well paid pros committing suicide
• When frustrated one develops a “I don’t care. Come what May” attitude which is fraught with grave operational risk to
• Every human being needs course correction at some stage of his life
• Frustration drives people to acts which are not compatible with their perceived lifestyle and which are normally unimaginable and they are not worried about the consequences of their action. In the story it cost Eddie’s life
• Frustration can be redirected towards a better goal for common good
• The unintended offspring of frustration is usually dangerous gossip and anonymous/pseudonym reporting in case of organisations with a large work force
• Though official channels are available, people resort to anonymous complaints because of frustration
• People feel frustrated for any perceived injustice either to them or to someone who they love and respect
• Frustration if not diverted properly, may lead to loss of huge morale and consequent business opportunities
• When people feel they are not part of the organisation or sidelined for no obvious reason, frustration starts budding.
• When frustrated one develops a “I don’t care. Come what May” attitude which is fraught with grave operational risk to the organisation
• There are reported instances that people direct business knocking at their door to other organisations and guiding them why it is better to do so. This is again an offshoot of frustration of their experience in forwarding a similar request which met with an embarrassing result.
• To nip it initially itself trainers can play an important role in this vital issue. It requires moral courage and conviction to overcome frustration – both on the part of trainers and the participants. A session or a separate program can be arranged for this
• This attempt will be another milestone in good corporate governance as continuous motivation can accelerate the growth as shown by the business leaders like Google.