Should you tell your boss you're overwhelmed at work?

Getting up early to work on a paper before the dreaded Teams back-to-back calls start and working late once they finish is a common groan I hear. I do it myself. ‘If I could just find some time to do my actual work’ is something I often hear and empathise with. However, I work for myself, so my workload is something I’ve created, but for others, it’s a very different and real issue. With the continuous cycle of change, pointless meetings about meetings, and ever-shifting tides of office life, it's not uncommon to find oneself overwhelmed, struggling to discern between an unmanageable workload and a lack of efficient planning skills as you feel so demotivated you don’t know where to start.

This scenario isn't just about being overwhelmed with work; it's about feeling like you're constantly playing a losing game of Tetris with your tasks. Every day becomes a crisis, a relentless barrage of high-priority issues mixed with a backlog of postponed duties.

Confronting your boss about the tsunami of tasks

Confronting your boss about this tsunami of tasks you worry about might not bring the desired calm you intend it to. The response might be, “I need you to do all of this stuff, but maybe you need to think about what’s a priority and come back to me.”

This feels dismissive and exacerbates the feeling of drowning in work. However, it’s important to demonstrate how much work you have, sharing the amount of time things take for each project/task and helping them understand and see the amount of work you have on. Direct the conversations to deadlines and priorities with them. As such, unstructured projects without clear vision and vague deadlines make matters worse.  If this doesn’t work, can you talk to someone else?

Should I quit my job? Is it me?

It's not uncommon in such scenarios to question yourself. Is this overwhelming workload truly unreasonable, or is it a matter of honing planning and organisational skills? The truth often lies in the middle. It's crucial to recognise that effective workload management isn’t just about handling what’s thrown at you; it's about learning to steer through these challenges skilfully, pushing back and giving yourself breaks so the brain can work well.

Planning and prioritising is essential

In any workplace, regardless of the intensity, taking time for planning and prioritising is essential – not a luxury. This time isn’t just about organising tasks; it's about anchoring yourself in the midst of a workload storm. It’s about working with others to help set the right direction, ensuring you don’t lose sight of your goals amid the chaos. A good boss or manager will check in regularly to do this, if they don’t, make it your job to hound them to support you to steer you on the right path.  Recent research from the Science of Work found that most personal and professional progress is directed by goals. When we set and reach goals, we get into a virtuous cycle as reaching goals drives self-confidence, motivation, and performance, this is also relevant in the workplace. (Bandura & Locke, 2003).

If you find yourself perpetually swamped, it may not solely be a testament to your organisational skills – or the lack thereof. Sometimes, it's a clear sign of a workplace that isn't functioning as it should. A supportive environment understands the ebb and flow of workload and adjusts expectations accordingly. It recognises the need for employees to have breathing space to plan and prioritise effectively. The absence of clear guidelines and deadlines from the top can turn any manageable situation into a struggle.

Some quick wins

If you're navigating through such stormy waters, look for strategies to streamline your tasks, delegate where possible, use tech and seek support where necessary. This could involve straightforward solutions like setting aside dedicated time for planning, using tools for better organisation, or even seeking clarity and assistance from colleagues.

Some quick wins might be:

• Look at your emails just three times a day. Set an hour aside at each time of the day for dealing with emails so they don’t distract you. Don’t get sucked into an email discussion. If it’s important, ring someone; you’ll get a much quicker answer.
• Push back on Teams/Zoom/Google Hangouts. Can it be a quick call to chat through an idea? Do you need to have a meeting?
• Do your meetings have a purpose with outcomes needed and an agenda? Often, we have meetings, virtual or otherwise, with no set agenda. This means people turn up unprepared, and the first 30 minutes are spent outlining what you need. Each meeting should have a clear agenda, pre-reads if necessary and suggest what prep people need to do so the meeting is successful. If you want to be super effective, state with each agenda point, whether it’s a discussion, a decision, or to inform. That will dictate how much time is needed and what involvement is needed from others.
• Take regular breaks; back-to-back meetings don’t work for anyone. The brain doesn’t work well, we’re not productive, and things don’t get done.
• If you can, split your day into meetings in the morning and work in the afternoon (with no meetings) or the other way around.

Effective workload management is a skill that combines personal organisation with the ability to challenge, seek and receive support. Remember, it's okay to ask for help when the workload becomes too much.

Need some learning and development support in your workplace? Contact our Doug, and he can talk you through your options - doug@laughology.co.uk