Signs of overworked employees

Being overworked usually means leadership and peers expect an employee to handle too much at work. This issue can vary from one person to the next, as everyone has a different tolerance level for what they can accomplish in a typical workday. And while employer expectations may be too high, this problem can also arise due to barriers that make it difficult for employees to complete their standardworkload.

To determine whether you have overworked employees, look for these signs:

• Drop in performance: If you see a sudden drop in performance,overworked employees could bethe culprit. The stress of the situation can interfere with their performance, and some people stop caring about their work and perform poorly.
• Negative emotions: Overworked employees may become more emotional, or you might notice a change in personality since it’s hard to stay positive when overburdened. For instance, a usually cheerful team member mighttransform into a frustratedworker.
• Missed work: When feeling overworked, some employees call in sick more than usual. A high absenteeism rate can decrease productivity and make staff fall even further behind in their work.
• Increased hours: An overworked employee might put in longer hours to catch up on work they miss out on due to stress and absenteeism. Spending more time at work, in turn,makes them feel even more overwhelmed and stressed.
• Finger-pointing: Overworked employees are under tremendousstress, which can make working with them challenging. They may display their tension by blaming others for errors or missed deadlines.
• Team friction: If one person feels as though they have to handle an unfair workload, the whole team can suffer. That person might resent coworkers and take it out on them. If the whole team feels overworked, the pressure may build and blow up, with team members taking their frustrations out on each other.
• Negative comments: You maynotice comments such as, “I feel like I live here” or, “I’ll never catch up on my to-do list.” These couldbe subtle hints from overworked employees who don’t feel like they can express their burnout directly.
• High turnover:If you havehigh employee turnover rates, you may be overworking your staff. Overworked employees often look for other jobs with companies that don’t expect so much out of them.

Consequences of overworking employees

Even employees with an excellent work ethic may falter in situations where they feel overburdened. This means you run the risk of losing essential staff if you don’t actively work to prevent fatigue due to overwork. The toll burnout takes on your staff often leads to downstream consequences.

For instance, the mental exhaustion thatburnout causes can make tempers short, potentially damaging morale. Likewise, employee health may suffer, further decreasing efficiency and productivity. These issues ultimately lead to less productivity and lower-quality work results, which may put your business at risk. Lastly, overworked employees could put you in legal jeopardy due to laws and regulations surrounding work hours and overtime.

Ways to prevent having overworked employees

Preventing fatigue in the first place is imperative. When team members are content, you don’t have to repair damage caused by unrealistic work expectations. Use these tips to help employees stay satisfied with your company and handle day-to-day tasks withmore ease.

Plan for increased workloads

The workload fluctuates for most businesses, whether it’s due to seasonal demands, product launches orfast turnaround times. Your employees might also see a sudden workload increase due to a coworker quitting or going on an extended leave.

You often have some warning about these situations, so plan for the increased workload. Talk to your employees about the upcoming workload increase and let them know it’s only temporary. Hire seasonal or temporary employees or outsource workto freelancers to help you get through the busier periods without putting undue stress on your top performers.

Check in regularly

Staying in touch with your workforce helps you spot issues before they get worse. Have regular meetings with your employees to see if they’re keeping up with their workload or need additional support. Listen to what potentially overworked team members say, and be on the lookout for hints that they’re falling behind, even if they don’t say it directly. These hints include late or last-minute work completion, errors in the work they complete or changes in behavior, such as a normally friendly employee withdrawing from coworkers or becoming irritable.

Eliminate unnecessary tasks

Repetitive or menial tasks might overload your staff due to their monotonous, time-consuming nature. It helps to evaluate the processes that employees who feel overworked typically handle. You may find that your company evolved while your processes didn’t. This knowledge helps you discover new, improved ways to complete tasks inwaysthat don’t create overworked employees.

Analyze each process to see what you can streamline. You can probably eliminate some mundane or stressful tasks, especially if you need employeesto focus on more important duties. For instance, adding cloud software that lets you automate mundane tasks frees up time so that workers can better perform themost essential parts of their jobs.

Recognize efforts

Do you routinely acknowledge your team’s efforts? If they never hear praise for their good work, your employees might push harder because they feel as though they’re not meeting your expectations. Giving regular feedback and recognition encourages workers and helps them understand what you expect.

Do exit interviews

Conducting anexit interview whenever an employee leaves can help you identify issues that led to the departure. Include questions about the workload to see if the employee felt overworked and had enough support to do their job efficiently. Compare the answers to these questions from everyone who leaves your company tohome in on any recurring issues with the workload. Remember — you have to understand a problem to find ways to correct it.

What to do if you have overworked employees

If you suspect your staff harbors overworked employees, take action immediately to correct the situation. Use these suggestions to find out who has too much or too little on their plates so you can better balance the workload and boost employee morale.

• Talk to the employees: Sit down with staff members who seem overworked to learn more about the issue. Ask about specific tasks and expectations that make them feel overwhelmed or overworked, and then compare their answers to identify problematic processes.
• Perform a job analysis:Doing ajob analysis on an overworked employee’s position helps determine if the workload is reasonable or if you need to make changes.For example, you might find a data analyst has trouble keeping up due to ad-hoc report requests from other groups, which interferes with their normal tasks.
• Increase flexibility:Give the employee a moreflexible work schedule if possible to help ease some of the stress. That control and flexibility can help overworked employees feel like they’re in charge, which can reduce overwhelm and stress. In some cases, remote work that frees them up from commute times does wonders to help good employees feel less burdened and more productive.
• Decrease the workload: If you determine a team member has too many responsibilities, find ways to decrease their workload. Reassign some duties to employees who have lighter loads, but make sure you don’t create new problems by overburdening them as well. Sometimes, you may even need to hire a new employee to handle the extra work.
• Provide resources and support: Your overworked employees need support to help them catch up and better handle their workload. Make sure they have the tools necessary to do their work efficiently, whether that’s a new software program, better equipment or additional training.
• Reevaluate your priorities: Even if you don’t directly force your employees to overwork, your priorities and values might create a high-stress company culture. Evaluate how you talk about deadlines or push people to increase productivity. Praising those who overwork sends the message that your employees must push themselves to exhaustion to impress you.
• Discourage excessive work: You may not require overtime, but some employees might work extra hours to catch up on their normal workloads. You can reduce the risk of burnout by discouraging excess work hours, outside of one-off situations, and encouraging the use of vacation time.

You’re in business to get things done, so it may seem counterproductive to lower expectations for workers. By lightening the burden, however, you may help good employees become great ones by giving them room to breathe and catch their second wind.

FAQs about overworked employees

How many hours are considered too much work?

Work hours are typically set at 40 hours for a reason — any more than that, and employees run the risk of experiencing mental health issues. Likewise, consistently working more than 55 hours per week can lead to physical health issues, such as heart disease.

How do you reduce workplace stress?

Stress management techniques come down to the four As — avoid, alter, adapt and accept. Workplaces can use all four strategies to help stressed and overworked employees:

• Avoid tasks that cause anxiety
• Alter work routines to provide more time for essential tasks
• Adapt to changing conditions based on what workers need
• Accept that no one employee can do everything alone

What questions should you ask overworked employees?

When you encounter employees you suspect are overworked, you can ask them several questions to gauge their condition. These include:

1. What do you enjoy most about your work?
2. What do enjoy least about your work?
3. Do you feel like you deserve more recognition?
4. Are you able to accomplish tasks your way?
5. Does your team support you?
6. What can we do to help you better perform your job?

Use the answers they give to tailor a plan to ease their burdens and get them back on track for mutual success.