How to keep your staff from becoming overworked

Exhausted young businessman working with laptop in officeWhen employees become overworked it can be bad for their well-being and for the company. Staff that is overwhelmed will be more inclined to make mistakes and miss deadlines. Being overworked can also lead to burnout and increased employee turnover rates. The employees will have a higher level of stress and may even feel unwell more often. These are just a few of the reasons to try and avoid your employees from being overwhelmed by their workload. So, what can you do?

Pay attention to your employees and see if there are any concerning signs. Are any of your employees not making deadlines as readily as they used to? Do some of them seem less productive than normal? Are they working through breaks, staying long hours or putting in a lot of extra time at home? Take notice of these things and talk with your employee if you feel like they might be taking on too much. Speaking of, it’s a good idea to take time to talk with all of your employees periodically. Ask them how they’re doing. Find out what their workload looks like. See if you can help them choose which items should take priority and where they may have more wiggle room to work with. Maybe you can even discuss moving some more menial tasks to others on the team that have more time available. Create a culture where your employees feel comfortable talking with you. You want them to know that they’re not just a number and that you genuinely care about them. Encourage them to come to you when there is a problem. Also, give them kudos when they do a great job.

Consider offering some flexibility. Some of your employees may be feeling overwhelmed because of their responsibilities inside and outside the office. Providing a more flexible start time (as long as they put in their eight hours) or even allowing them to occasionally work from home, can ease some of this burden. This type of schedule can also show employees that you trust and care about them, building a better work culture.

Another way to help avoid your staff from getting overworked is by simply connecting with an experienced and trusted outsourcing company. Allowing the outsourcing company to handle some of these tasks provides your employees more time to focus on the core objectives of their job.

These are just a few ways you can help keep your staff working productively and proficiently. Remember, being overworked doesn’t mean more stuff will get done, sometimes it actually means the opposite.

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