Being overworked leads to stress and burnout and can leave you overwhelmed. It can be tough to manage and negotiate your workload with your boss, but here are 18 things you can do to stop your boss from offloading so much work on you.
Agree on a workload
Suggest working together with your boss to draft a workload agreement. This agreement will outline your expected duties and obligations. It should clearly state what is expected of you and will serve as a point of reference for future talks about workload. As Forbes notes, you must take the initiative to create mutually agreeable expectations.
Set realistic expectations
Figure out how much work you can realistically get done within given timeframes, and communicate this with your boss. Have a conversation about this to prevent overcommitment or overexpectation. Work with your boss to prioritize tasks, making it easier to manage daily responsibilities effectively.
Learn to say no politely
It’s good to have a method for politely declining additional tasks that would overload your schedule. You could present alternative solutions, maybe suggest other people for the work that you know would be a good fit for those jobs. Or propose timelines that better fit your capacity, enabling you to take the tasks on.
Keep track of your work
Make detailed records of how much time and effort you spend on different tasks to provide concrete data when discussing workload. You can also use this data to point out inefficiencies or disproportionate time spent on certain tasks and suggest areas that can be improved to streamline your workload.
Ask for help in prioritizing
Let your boss know that you can’t do everything at once—ask them which tasks they would like you to prioritize. Let them know you’d like to concentrate on important tasks that are critical for the company and more time-sensitive.
Schedule regular check-ins
Establish regular meetings with your boss so that you can review your workload together and discuss any necessary adjustments. Use these check-ins as an opportunity to evaluate and provide feedback on what is or isn’t working in your current workload distribution, notes the New York Post
Teach your boss to delegate elsewhere
Encourage your boss to spread tasks and develop skills across the team, letting them know that you can’t and do not want to take on all of the workload yourself. Suggest other team members who have extra time on their hands or skills better suited for certain tasks.
Ask for more resources
If your workload constantly exceeds the reasonable limits that you set out, ask for some help. Request additional resources, such as more team members or technology aids. Put together a proposal showing how these added resources can improve productivity and generate better results.
Implement a task management system
A visual task management system can help maintain transparency in your work and results. This openness makes it easier for your supervisor to understand how much you have on your plate and how you’re handling it, which may improve your workload distribution.
Set working hours and boundaries
Clearly define your working hours, and communicate these boundaries to your boss. Ensure that your personal time is respected, meaning no work calls, emails, or other communication after hours. Respecting boundaries around personal time will prevent stress and burnout and also help to maintain productivity.
Establish clear communication
Be honest, says Harvard Business Review. Your boss needs to be kept aware of your capacity, so give them regular updates on your current workload and progress. You should establish an open line of communication with your superiors so you can comfortably discuss workload concerns without fear of reprisal.
Share your career goals
Ask your boss if you can be assigned tasks that help you grow professionally. Aligning tasks with your career goals can increase your motivation and effectiveness, and if your team seeks relevant work in line with their goals, too, it will help distribute tasks more appropriately.
Encourage a team-distributed work model
Advocate for a working model where tasks are distributed according to current team capacity and individual development goals to promote collaboration within your team. A team-based approach can lead to more efficient workload management and job satisfaction for everyone.
Be proactive about workload
You shouldn’t wait for your boss to notice you’re overwhelmed; be proactive about discussing your workload with them. If you can anticipate when your workload might get too much, initiate workload discussions with your boss beforehand so that you can prevent it.
Negotiate flexibility in deadlines
When you are assigned new tasks, negotiate the deadlines when possible. This will ensure that you can manage them effectively without having to sacrifice their quality. Provide your boss with rational explanations for why extensions may be necessary for some tasks and projects.
Show appreciation for understanding
Expressing gratitude to your boss when they accommodate your workload concerns will motivate them to keep your needs in mind in the future. Positive reinforcement can strengthen your relationship and improve your ongoing communications about workload.
Train others to share responsibilities
Develop skills in your workplace by offering to train colleagues to do tasks that could be shared or redistributed. This will reduce your burden and enhance team skills. Highlight to your boss how expanding other’s capabilities within the team can lead to more flexible and efficient task management.
Offer solutions to problems
Nobody likes to listen to complaints and negativity. Whenever discussing workload issues, come prepared with potential solutions, not just problems, suggests the Economic Times. You can suggest innovative ways to manage or redistribute work that could benefit the entire team or training programs that might help you or your colleagues to be more efficient.
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