What to Do If You’re on an Overworked Team
Overwork is at least somewhat subjective. Still, as this infographic shows, there seems to be a lot of it going around. An awful lot of people report taking on more work than in the past, and more than a third of people in one survey say they are doing the work of two people.
Of course, an occasional bout of excessive hours can sometimes be energizing. I remember a project where, in order to meet a tight deadline, several of us had to work at a remote location for a week, with days running from early morning until midnight. Despite the long hours, we felt a sense of exhilaration even as the pressure built.
But exhilaration rarely applies when overwork is the norm. The potential toll includes fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, stress, and difficulty concentrating. If you’re too overworked to even notice that you’re overworked, there are several signs. For example, you’ve probably lost contact with friends and family. You’re irritable much of the time. Your health is suffering. You come home from work and go straight to bed, ignoring personal chores such as paying bills.
The team effort suffers, too. When a lot of must-do's arrive at the same time, team members often start switching from one task to another. As a result, every task takes longer, plus time is lost in adjusting to each new task. Productivity is also affected by constantly having to reprioritize the list of tasks. Every time you reprioritize, you have to recall the details of each task, assess its current status, and decide what action should be taken to address it.
When you’re the manager and a period of overwork is truly necessary, allow team members as much creativity and flexibility as possible. Free them from distracting busywork. Show your appreciation of the effort they’re making. Acknowledging their effort ensures they don’t falsely believe you have no idea how hard they’re working. And be a good role model—if they have to put in long hours, you should do the same.
When you’re the overworked employee, try to force your boss to prioritize. If the boss insists all tasks are equally important, set priorities yourself. It may feel uncomfortable to ignore certain tasks, but setting priorities is both a sound business practice and, in the case of overwork, a survival strategy. Resist the temptation to complain about too much work. A little garden-variety venting is fine. Too much is debilitating—both for you and for everyone else you work with.
When confronted with overwork, strive to eat right, get some exercise, and get enough sleep. Even with too much work, you’ll be able to tackle your tasks faster and with greater energy.
