Former Zomato VP shares career experience:IITian Mridul Anand says, ‘Take a pause, not a break to recover from burnout’

Former Zomato Vice President Mridul Anand, who lives in Gurugram, Haryana and studied at IIT Delhi, shared the difference between ‘break’ and ‘pause’ in corporate career and personal life. He revealed that he took a year-long break 8 years ago to recover from burnout, but after 6 months, the same fatigue and mental stress engulfed him again. In a LinkedIn post, Mridul wrote – I had been dealing with burnout for years, believing that hard work always brings progress, but work-filled days, mental burden and relationship stress forced me to take a ‘break’. At that time, ‘break’ was viewed with suspicion, so I called it a ‘pause’. During this break, he traveled, read books, improved health, watched podcasts, but his mindset remained the same. He wrote- A year of break passed and burnout returned just six months after coming back. I felt that the ‘break’ refreshed me, but my thought system remained the same. Mridul Anand’s social media post… Understood the difference after many ‘breaks’
He said that a break gives you distance from experience, while a pause gives you a new perspective in it. A break recharges you, but a pause helps you change your thinking. The real pause begins when you leave old thinking, step out of patterns and understand your restlessness in peace. Mridul learned through meditation practice, which changed his thinking. This experience inspired him to organize retreats that provide an opportunity for ‘pause’ rather than a ‘break’. Corporate work pressure and loneliness increasing stress
Psychologist Dr. Archana Krishna says that corporate employees in Gurugram are facing mental health problems due to stress. While shifts are nominally eight-nine hours, people work shifts of 12 to 16 hours. Performance pressure, loneliness and social expectations break down professionals, leading to increased suicidal thoughts. This is why they cannot recover even after taking a break from their job. Because during the break they remain connected to their professional life. In such situations, it’s necessary to take a pause or what we can call a complete halt. One suicide every third day
The number of suicide cases is not decreasing in Gurugram, known as the economic capital of Haryana. On average, 10 to 12 people commit suicide here every month. Of these, 4 to 5 people are corporate employees. These include everyone from junior employees to managers and engineers. Although police believe that personal, love angles and domestic reasons are more common, corporate work pressure somehow dominates these situations. IT Engineers IITians have committed suicide