WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE OVERLOADED WITH WORK

by Venchito Tampon | Last Updated on November 3, 2016

You are given additional responsibility. However, you feel like drowning. How do you cope up?

I work in a small company of 40 people. We are not a startup and above that, I’m part of a team of 5 people, 4 of whom will be on vacation in June or July. They want me to work on some tasks from all projects on-hand but I am confused on how to deal with deadlines that overlap.

You know you are dedicated at work.

But if there’s an overload of tasks that others keep passing on to you, what can you do about it?

Here are three actionable tips if you feel the brunt of office work overload:

1. Assess your attitude towards work

Work overload is subjective.

See if you are just trying to make excuses.

Stress is inevitable. How you manage it makes the difference.

If your industry has seasonal workloads, prepare for it. For example, in the accounting industry, there is what they call “audit seasons”. Some professionals prepare enough for such. They file leaves before and after the period to have some vacation.

Is it just you or the whole team? Know if all team members are getting equal challenges at work. If this is the case, apply tip #2.

When the whole team is fully productive and yet isn’t achieving their weekly/monthly KPIs, then that’s the time you need to talk to your boss – apply tip #3.

2. Take actions, don’t just complain

Complaining shouldn’t be the only reaction to work overload or pressure. Instead, take actions. Two things you can do here: prioritize and do the job well.

Prioritize

It’s easy to be overwhelmed with many tasks, but if you know what to prioritize, you’ll still be productive.

You should come up with ideas on how to be more efficient. It may be frustrating in most cases, but that’s a great career opportunity! It tests your attitude and creativity at work.

When you come up with ideas to be efficient while other co-workers choose to complain about the workload, that shows your kind of leadership.

Finish your task then help others

I’ve discussed this before. Become a team player.

However, there’s something you should understand here.

Don’t help others if you can’t finish your own task. It’s not good to help others to gain approval and neglect your own work in the process.

If it’s not your direct boss or upper management assigning the work task to you, don’t accept any delegated work from anyone. They will understand.

3. Effectively communicate it to your boss

If you think there is work overload and the whole team is requesting for additional personnel to help them accomplish tasks, it’s time to talk to your boss. Do this after considering certain factors such as the workplace becoming toxic – no allowed leaves for consecutive months, consistent required overtimes and additional responsibilities that are unrealistic and far beyond signed employment contract to name a few.

Give your boss the benefit of doubt. If your boss is the business owner himself, he may not realize that he is giving unrealistic workload which is beyond your work scope.

Know when feedback loops happen. If it is done monthly/quarterly, wait for the right time to communicate the issue to your boss. This way, it will not sound that you’re just complaining about your work, especially if there’s a sudden overload work pass on to you.

The best way to communicate is to ask for your boss’ professional expertise. This shows respect for their role in the company.

The right choice of words is important here. Otherwise, you may be looked at as the weak link in the team and this can backfire to your performance.

Take a coffee chat with your boss. Ask for help on how you can manage conflicting deadlines and how to prioritize one task over others, if one project takes up more time than accounted for.

If your boss discerns it well, he’ll understand what you are saying and may help lighten your workload. He might also raise this issue to upper management and provide strategies for higher efficiency– i.e. hiring new employees if budget and management permits.

This is not a 100% guaranteed solution. But this can REALLY help.

YOUR TURN

Know any other ways to handle work overload?

Have a follow-up question?

Leave a quick comment below.

I’ll be around today to reply to comments and answer questions.