7 Workload Management Tips to Reduce Employee Stress
Why is Workload Management Important?
Do you really know how your current employees are dealing with workload management? According to a study by Indeed, 52% of people are feeling burned out at work, and 75% have felt burned out at some point when it comes to their workload.
Employees can feel stress for many reasons but letting this go unchecked is dangerous to company morale and turnover rates. Before burnout and stress become a problem, you need to consider how you can improve workload management strategies. Improvement can start in 7 key areas.
Reasons for Workload Burnout
Stressed or overloaded employees are 63% more likely to miss work and nearly three times more likely to seek other employment. But what leads to this workload stress?
There are several factors that can contribute:
- Working too many hours
Many industries are having difficulties filling roles due to COVID and other factors. This leaves other employees picking up the slack. Businesses rely on those employees who are willing to cover.
In fact, these employees are usually your most productive employees. The problem is, the more work that gets piled on to them, the less productive they will become over time. It is important for employees to have time away from work so they can recharge.
- Unclear roles or boundaries
It is difficult for anyone to be productive if they don’t clearly understand their role in a business or project. As they continue without direction, they are likely to get frustrated and stressed.
It is important to help employees understand their place in the organization. Every person is different in how much direction they need, but employers must try to find the right balance to provide what is needed to prevent burnout in this area. If necessary, follow up to make sure employees feel supported in their role.
- Poor communication
Poor communication goes along with unclear roles. If an employee feels left out of the loop or doesn’t feel like they are getting the information they need to succeed, they will not feel obligated to give their best work to the company. Continued communication issues are likely to send them out the door.
You need to make sure information makes it to everyone who needs it to complete their jobs. Keep people involved in the processes so they understand what’s happening moving forward. Let employees know they are valued by communicating regularly.
- Lack of opportunity for professional development
Employees who feel valued are going to be more positive about their jobs. Valuing employees means giving them opportunities to improve and grow in their careers. Employees who feel like they are stuck will get easily burned out with a position they feel they have outgrown.
Employees who don’t get the support to grow are more likely to look for these opportunities outside their current workplace. One of the most effective ways to do this is to offer employee development training and opportunities to move up in your business.
Workload Management Tips to Reduce Employee Stress
Your employees are what drive your business success or failure. The most successful businesses look for ways to improve employee understanding, abilities, and morale. One way to help with employee success is to put effective workload management strategies in place companywide.
Effective workload management will help employees stay on track and can help reduce employee turnover. Good strategies will help employees feel more involved, connected, and better able to fulfill their responsibilities.
Set Realistic Goals
The first step to a workload management strategy is to set goals for employees that they can reach. Create clear objectives for each department and achievable deadlines to meet the goals set.
This will require understanding the abilities of your employees and determining best practices to help them better achieve these goals. Evaluate goals regularly to make sure they reflect the needs of the company and are attainable.
Prioritize
Good organization is key to achieving goals. Part of this organization includes prioritizing the work that needs to be done. Most of your employees have several tasks or projects that need their attention, so it’s important for them to know which tasks are most important.
Providing an outline is helpful to let employees know where they need to focus their attention. It also helps to provide training on how to prioritize the work for themselves. The more employees can take control of their workload, the more smoothly everything will run.
Organization
Beyond prioritizing workloads, you need to organize the workflow. Putting a system in place to manage tasks and projects will help you keep up with operations and ensure everyone can find the information they need when they need it.
This also means making sure everyone knows what their role is in the company. Understanding roles will help employees better collaborate and share relevant information so workflows run smoothly.
Communication
Communication should be an essential part of daily business. Sharing information, providing guidance and feedback, and listening to the needs of employees are all part of this communication. Keeping communication open keeps everything moving forward and helps employees feel connected.
Communication includes record keeping. You need a system in place to maintain necessary documentation and workflow management, so everyone is on the same page. Good communication reduces confusion that often delays workflows.
Keep Employees Accountable
No matter how much you trust your employees to perform their jobs, you need to follow up on their progress. Holding employees accountable sounds to some like pestering, but that’s not what it is about.
Accountability is about checking in with employees. It’s about making sure they have the resources they need to complete a task. It’s about making sure they understand the importance of the work assigned to them and what’s expected of them.
Automation
Automation is one of the best ways to help you manage workloads. Automation tools help you keep up with what everyone is doing while simplifying tasks so you can increase productivity. This can include platforms for marketing, customer service, record keeping, and training.
Look for automation tools that make sense for your company needs and that can work together. You also want to look for tools that are simple for employees to learn so they get the most out of these resources.
Provide Employee Development Opportunities
Employee development opportunities may not sound like they have anything to do with workload management, but these opportunities are key to helping employees feel valued. An employee who feels like they have room to grow in your company are going to be more loyal and more productive.
Listen and watch for areas where you can help employees grow in their current jobs and possibly into other positions. Take advantage of the talent you have already on hand. By helping employees advance, you reduce employee burnout therefore cutting down on employee turnover.
Getting Started with Your Workload Management System
To get started with an effective workload management system, you need to have the right tools in place. A good place to start is with an employee development training program. Putting a training program in place will help prepare employees for managing their own workloads while helping you manage the company needs.
Infinit-I Workforce Solutions has a fully supported learning management system that can help you build the training program to fit your company needs. Incorporate custom content with the training videos available in our cloud-based library to prepare your employees for success. Request a demo today to discover how easy it is to get started.
