Know the difference between knowledge and wisdom: Poulomi Roy, Joy Personal Care

For Poulomi Roy, chief marketing officer, Joy Personal Care, part of the Kolkata-based RSH Global, the hustle culture prevalent today and setting unrealistic expectations and standards that it gives rise to have led to a flawed work-life balance. In an interaction with Storyboard18, she added that this skew has led to early burnout in many cases, and suggested that linking one’s success to how one fares in one’s career is an erroneous approach.

Edited excerpts:

The creator economy has taken the world by storm. Which influencers and trends are you following currently?

As a brand, at Joy Personal Care we are looking at a diverse set of influencers, ranging from A-list Bollywood celebrities to micro and nano influencers for our marketing activities to reach out to different sets of consumers. We organised a multi-city event for creators for our brand recently. This event gave them an opportunity to understand our brand in detail.

What marketing-related content do you consume in your free time?

I don’t consume short-form content like tips and tricks on marketing. Instead, I focus on reading and watching interviews with leaders and industry experts. I believe that problems vary from one organisation to another. Hence, I try to listen to diverse perspectives, learn about different kinds of work that are gaining recognition and open my mind to new ideas and approaches.

There is a lot of talk about burnout, workplace toxicity and hustle culture. What steps have you taken to avoid the adverse impact of the always-on culture on yourself and your colleagues, and what advice would you give to your peers, colleagues and next-gen marketers on this?

India has been a mixed economy combining both aspects of socialism and capitalism. Currently the tilt is towards capitalism. The hustle ethic exists under capitalism and has caused people to adorn a habit of constantly working and normalising overtime at work to stay afloat. These unrealistic standards set for themselves lead to toxicity and burnout.

Capitalism promotes the accumulation of capital and the sale of commodities, where individuals are primarily defined by their relationship to business and the market. It comes to a stage where one’s identity is directly linked to the success in their work life.

I have the privilege to have studied a liberal arts subject in detail which has helped me observe and understand the change in society, people, culture and narrative and thoughtfully prepare my journey.

Is there any sport or fitness routine you practice?

I do yoga on a regular basis. I have started lifting weights recently. These seem beneficial for the fitness of both mind and body for me. I build Lego structures with my son often. That too gives me a sense of mental agility and focus.

What does your weekend look like?

I wish I could say that I play golf from 10-12 in the morning followed by a brunch meeting with top CEOs. But that’s not how my weekends look like. My weekends are usually chore-oriented at home. I do spend time with my child and parents. I like to eat delicious food during weekends, either at home or outside. I read books as well.

What are you watching/streaming this weekend?

I deliberately avoid watching or streaming content as those are quite addictive in nature.

Any work/life hack you swear by?

There is one life hack that I apply in my professional life. That is, be in the moment, finish that off and move on.

What are you reading? Any recommendations?

I have just finished reading Knife by Salman Rushdie. I am about to complete reading Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh. I am going to start reading The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel García Márquez.

I can think of the following three as my recommendations: Shame by Salman Rushdie; Western Lane by Chetna Maroo; and Indira by Katherine Frank.

A piece of wisdom you would like to share…

Looking at the times we live in, I would say it is important to know the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is the information and facts we gather, wisdom is layering the knowledge with insight, experience and good judgement. Both are different but complement each other for comprehensive self-growth.

Read More: Job is a part of you. You also have another side of you, says Darshana Shah, Aditya Birla Capital