Thomas Erikson was thrilled when he exited the stage following his riveting TEDx lecture in Athens. But as he came backstage, his wife broke the heartbreaking news of his father's demise. His life abruptly collapsed when he was far from home and had no control over the circumstance.

"Although I didn't want to bring it up, I think it's a great illustration of encountering difficult circumstances that you have to accept. Erikson adds, his eyes welling up, "You can't foresee the next moment, even when you're delighted the instant before. "You have to acknowledge that occasionally you may run out of energy. You can't always have strength."

"Young people have been duped by society, whatever it is, into thinking that you can feel great all the time. Yes, it would be fantastic, but that is untrue. Life and individuals are never entirely nice or entirely terrible. This idea is at the core of Erikson's well-known body of work, which includes Surrounded by Idiots, one of the most read books on human conduct.

Surrounded by energy vampires, the newest book in the "Surrounded by" series, combines all the issues he examined in his previous books, classifying energy vampires as everyone from narcissists to lousy employers, psychopaths, and setbacks. The Swedish author and behaviourist, who was in Dubai for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, recently spoke with Khaleej Times about the perils of categorising people based solely on one trait and clarified why Gen-Z may be the most misunderstood generation as a result.

An energy vampire is who?

Imagine yourself at your desk, feeling confident, competent, and like you have a pleasant task ahead of you. You think, "Oh no, this is not one of those days," as someone walks through the door and into the room. That's your energy vampire, the source of your total exhaustion.

It may be anyone—a drama queen or perfectionist, a narcissist, a bully, or a passive-aggressive individual. Your manager may be the one. Everybody responds to things differently. Most likely, your energy vampire is not the same as mine. You could respond, "Yeah, that's nothing," but I may react to certain behaviours that make me feel depressed, exhausted, and short in energy. Consequently, identifying an energy vampire might be challenging.

How can we identify an energy vampire, then?

As you begin to assess your inner battery, take note of when your level of energy is decreasing. After having your coffee, you feel energised and prepared to face the day. You discover all of a sudden that you no longer feel so powerful. It is practically possible to go back a few hours and evaluate what transpired. Was it the call from home? Was this anything you had not anticipated? At times, a pattern becomes apparent.
For example, you have to get up and move around a little each time Fred calls. What exactly is wrong with him? Fred is not intentionally attempting to drain your energy; rather, there is a lack of connection between you. Perhaps you could discuss it with Fred.

Q: Ghosting is a phenomena that is gaining popularity. Is it appropriate for vampires of energy to "ghost"?

That's a coward's solution, not the answer. I subscribe to the antiquated notion that you are accountable for your actions and inactions. Your issue is that you did nothing. You are also accountable for your responses. Thus, accept accountability for that. Take action.

How can you tell if you're acting like an energy vampire?

It's an excellent question, because you may be your own greatest adversary at times. That is accurate. Most individuals, in my opinion, are their own worst Energy Vampires. Acceptance is difficult, though. Although we occasionally waste time on unproductive activities, you still need to be aware of what is going on.
I wrote this book in complete opposition to what all the gurus advise, which is often something along the lines of "write down one brilliant thing every day." That has my full support. However, what I actually did was begin recording every mistake I made during the day.

To which call did I fail to answer? Did I overindulge during lunch? Why didn't I take a stroll?

I noticed I could probably repair 98 out of the 100 points on the list, so I'm working on those right now. You may give yourself a pat on the shoulder each time you make a small improvement. This illustrates the idea that little things have a big impact.

Q: You don't appear to enjoy the traditional labels that are prevalent in contemporary culture. What risks come with assigning people the wrong or premature labels?

Labelling individuals leads to complicated difficulties and elf-fulfilling prophesies. I was unaware of how similar individuals are everywhere in the world when I began my study, which involved utilising the four colours red, yellow, green, and blue to define personality types. This was because we are frequently taught differently. People from India and Sweden are essentially the same when you speak to them one-on-one, yet individuals in Sweden may really differ greatly from one another from north to south, I discovered on my travels. Therefore, we have a one-dimensional idea of individuals when we assign labels to them.
Q: You have stated that young people, sometimes known as "Gen-Z," are receiving inaccurate labels. For what reason is it the case?

These days, we pass judgement on young people so quickly. Everyone enjoys assuming things about other people. There is no way that all 2.7 billion individuals can be alike. Labelling young people as dependent, entitled, and bad is the issue. For what reason would they care? Then, for them, life has already ended. When you can spend the day in bed, munching on chips and sipping Coca-Cola, why even bother?
In reality, though, they ought to grab a rag and inquire, "How may I help? How am I able to help? The desire of young people is to be treated like adults, not like children. Furthermore, social media's message to youth that they should always be cheerful is just making matters worse. It is not wise to pursue happiness. There is a cause for happiness. It isn't an end in and of itself. Doing the right things will make you happy.

We must constantly remind ourselves that everyone is in pain. They all look amazing when I work with European entrepreneurs or mentor billionaires. They exude prosperity, competence, and confidence.
Everything appears to be bright on the outside, but if you look closer, you can see that everyone is flawed. The evil side is there in all of us.

What proactive measures can companies take to better assist and integrate the younger generation into the workforce?

Actually, helping others become competent leaders—not managers, mind you; we should all understand the distinction—is my primary business. In particular, the younger generation prefers leaders to managers. You must coach the individual; you cannot coach a team.

I don't care if you are busy with something else, don't have the time, or have 33 individuals on your list and no infrastructure. You are still required as their leader. You must speak with the person to determine what they require for the current work. You must give the person your time.

Is it possible for silent resignation to result from an employer and employee not having a personal relationship?

Giving up quietly implies that you're not accepting accountability. Who told Generation Z it was acceptable to go quietly? That is not the same as accepting accountability. Realise that although it feels horrible, it is bad. Well done if you genuinely believe you are superior to the business. Launch your own company or submit a job application.

Another problem is that managers don't actually want to know what problems their staff is facing. Since there is generally something lacking, asking the team what's missing when they are seated together is an excellent place to start.