Breaking the ‘student syndrome’

Think about the time when you were in college or university. When was the best time to study for an exam or finish your project and when did you actually start working on it? A common answer would be - from two days before the exam, or the entire night before the exam. This behaviour is called the 'Student Syndrome'. The student syndrome relates to the behavior of students when they tend to start tasks as late as possible, consequently increasing time pressure and stress levels. Not to mention, it hampers their quality of output and creates gaps in learning. If this tendency of student syndrome continues to carry forward in work life then it becomes catastrophic for anyone. It is often too late to manage the unexpected issues that may arise after all the contingency time has been squandered.
It could be stated with no doubts in mind that student syndrome is deliberately derailing students from being professional in career. This dysfunctional human behaviour among students leads them to address their tasks at the last moment. Simply, it occurs when a student with the task waits until the last best possible moment comes to complete. Robinson and Richards in 'The Effects of student syndrome, Stress, and Slack on Information Systems Development Projects (2009)' argued that in spite of taking contingencies student syndrome is a major problem as it is experienced in the workplace that many of the works are executed when the urgency is very high. It surely hampers productivity and quality of work. But the worst harm it does to one is the depletion of image and reliability as it portraits lack of professionalism.
The problem is yet to be addressed by educational institutes. It seems students are given education for the purpose of certificates and degrees, but not for learning and self-development. Students are guided to submit only the project or assignment that is merely related to books rather practical or realistic applications of theories, that fails to bring necessary enthusiasm for delivering the work. This is one of the reasons that confined them within a small arena of books and encouraged them to complete the project at the eleventh hour as they do not understand the gravity of the situation. Furthermore, often times the necessary training and grooming initiatives for newly joined employees are not taken regarding proper professional behaviour. As a result student syndrome is getting viral in the student and young graduate community of Bangladesh.
Another reason that is adding fuel to the fire is the void of 'Early Work' transfers. If anyone finishes the work earlier than expected, he/she is usually not able to pass the completed work and commence a new project. Systems are designed as such that management is unable to reduce the task duration, so the following task starts late and the whole project gets delayed. Studies have found that incentivizing early work submissions positively impact employee productivity and work culture.   However, very few initiatives have been taken to address this viral problem of 'student syndrome'. Nowadays students are even openly sharing funny posts and contents in social media platforms regarding procrastination. This shows the general acceptance of the problem among students and young graduates. To address this issue immediately, employers and educational institutes need to join hands and work collaboratively. Learning procedure should be more practical and relevant rather than theoretical to make it more engaging for students. Professional grooming is another way of addressing these problems of student life.
To incorporate proper time maintenance among students, projects with inch-pebbles must be developed. Educational institutes should monitor and measure students' developments properly. Progress measurement and student assessment can be successful antibodies for student syndrome. Another effective method could be changing the mindset of young graduates by inspiring them. Inspirational training sessions can be organised by the employers to incubate professional behaviour.
Student syndrome may not be dispelled overnight but it can be reduced so that more proper organisational leaders can be born. Students should also take personal initiatives such as following inch-pebble or proper team work to avoid procrastination and low quality of output. Lastly, organisational supervisors need to actively engage in monitoring the new-joiners. As this will only help their organisations in completing projects, hitting deadlines and build better future leaders.

The writer is currently working as an assistant manager in a local commercial bank's treasury department,
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