Managing Work Overload

In many organizations, one of the most frequently reported workplace stressors is related to workload.

Y2 Consulting Psychologists, an HRM firm specialising in Government organisations, have led several workplace assessments in GOC departments and agencies. In many of the GOC organisations that were assessed, indicate struggling with the volume of work, the tight deadlines, constantly changing priorities, priority setting/urgencies, lack of resources, significant workload fluctuations and uneven distribution of work.

The issues of workload management and productivity are tightly intertwined. How can you achieve greater productivity with your existing resources?

Creating Positive and Healthy GOC Organisations

To be truly successful, an organisation must have a work climate of trust and openness, that is a positive atmosphere. A positive atmosphere indicates that members of the organisation are motivated, committed, involved and satisfied. It means that people are comfortable enough with one another to be creative, take risks, and make mistakes. It also means that people are satisfied with their jobs and with their work environment. You are also likely to hear plenty of laughter, and research shows that people who are enjoying themselves are more productive than those who dislike what they are doing.

Trust is by far the most important ingredient of a positive atmosphere. Some of the characteristics and behaviours that build trust are: honesty, dependability, sincerity and open-mindedness. It’s also important to keep in mind that what one person sees as trustworthy is not necessarily what another sees. We each have different values. Trust is not built overnight. In fact, building trust is often one the greatest challenges of most organisations. If a team you work with has done a good job of building trust, the other aspects of a positive atmosphere will come more easily.

Making New Hires Count

Rather than being another management burden, welcoming new hires and retention of employees should be viewed as best practices for managers. 

We know that the approach by which an organization’s employees and resources are coherently managed is fundamental to its effectiveness and well-being.

And managers who engage their employees are more likely to retain them. 

It has been shown that retention efforts are bolstered in any organization when managers:

• care about each individual employee
• listen and understand what motivates employees
• provide clear direction, roles, responsibilities and expectations
• reward and recognize contributions
• help employees develop, and
• remove barriers to success