WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE OVERLOADED WITH WORK
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.
WHEN YOU THINK YOUR BOSS IS INCOMPETENT
What if a company hires a new superior who lacks relevant professional experience? How do we respond to that?
What do you do if your new boss lacks experience and is underqualified?
There is a reason why you think your boss is incompetent. You may not be getting the support that you need to fully complete your tasks. he may not be giving a direction on what your next step you should take, he can’t make wise decisions at work, so on and so forth.
Here are three actionable tips to help you deal with an incompetent boss.
1. Identify if it is your “EGO” or he actually lacks competence in one area
Assess if it’s your ego that makes you want to take over his position or you simply resist being under his authority. If this is the case, make a firm decision to submit to him regardless of age and status. Honor and respect him.
Meanwhile, you may actually be seeing one hard or soft skill that he needs improvement on. There’s no point of scattering his incompetence within your team – it will backfire if you may.
If you identify with the latter, apply tip #2.
2. Collaborate instead of interrogate
Your goal is not to pull down this person. You may find that he is still adapting to the new office environment as a new manager/supervisor. Show some consideration as he applies his own management style before jumping into any conclusion.
If conflict arises, exercise your people skills. Know when to move forward and when to back off.
Remember that everyone has his own weak spots - you also have some. Leverage your strengths to compensate for his deficiencies.
Lead! I know someone who bought a leadership book (Maxwell) for her boss. It’s an indirect way of telling him that he lacks competence in that area.
On another note, direct communication is also important here. Ask him what you exactly need and if he’s unable to provide it, give a recommendation. I’ve found that some managers tend to back off when they know their subordinates can do more work when given a chance to move. If you ask politely, your boss might give away some tasks where you can shine!
By becoming a team player yourself, it would have a positive impact to your individual performance.
3. Find that one thing you can learn from him
Your so-called “incompetent” boss isn’t necessarily a bad boss. He gets his position because there’s one, two or some other facets that the upper management know he is capable of doing. He may lack in some areas but you can still learn one skill from him which you are yet to acquire.
In your 1 on 1 casual or formal talk, ensure that you get mentored and coached on that particular aspect of work. Whether it’s on leadership, customer service, presentation skill, or one industry hard skill, get to a point where you consistently learn from your boss on that specific area.
YOUR TURN
Know any other ways to manage a “so-called” incompetent boss?
Have a follow-up question?
Leave a quick comment below.
I’ll be around today to reply to comments and answer questions.
ONE REASON WHY YOU ARE NOT PROMOTED
Why I’m not promoted despite showing excellent performance at work?
If you are working for a company for about 3, 5 or 10 years but haven’t been promoted yet, there’s something wrong. Setting aside company issues (financial resources management, industry’s salary variance, etc..), there is one reason why you’re not promoted.
What is that?
Lack of soft skills
The deliberation committee of your company (those who decide who gets promoted) considers both hard skills and soft skills as their basis for promotion.
Compared to hard skills like programming and finance, soft skills aren’t taught well in schools. They are learned through constant reading of books, absorbing mentorship insights, attending to seminars, etc.
Soft skills include self-management and people skills.
Here are three actionable tips to start improving your soft skills?
1. Manage yourself and your workload well
Leadership starts with leading yourself. If you can’t manage your own workload, your time and your emotions, how can you manage and lead others as well?
Whenever we consider people for promotion, we want people who can take over one of our responsibilities and be delegated with new tasks. These people don’t need too much supervision from us, aren’t easily frustrated when things go wrong and ultimately, can lighten our workload.
Work performance isn’t just about IQ, it’s also having that grit (passion plus perseverance) to get things done on time.
2. Communicate simply
Stop replying to your boss with lengthy email. Be brief and clearly express your thoughts.
Practice 5 to 10 times before you present a technical project proposal to your manager – that’s how you can improve your communication skills over time.
Don’t use jargons or highfaluting words. If you are misunderstood by your manager and your co-employees, that only make things worse. Simplicity makes for effective communication.
3. Have a growth mindset
If you are focused on growth, you accept tasks that are out of your comfort zone. If it is within the boundary of your job, you will seize opportunities to learn from new projects.
You don’t grumble when you are transferred to another team because you think that’s another opportunity for you to work effectively with anyone with different personalities, working styles and motivational level.
Promotion is given to a worker who deserves it. If you are not promoted this year, assess yourself. Do you take efforts to improve your soft skills?
YOUR TURN
Do you know any other ways to improve your soft skills?
Or maybe you have a follow-up question.
Either way, leave a comment quick below.
I’ll be around today to reply to comments and answer questions.
So if you have a question or thought, leave a comment right now.