Helping Employees Do More with Less

Employers often offer mixed messages to their workers about working long hours to meet increasingly expanded responsibilities. But long hours and overwork often lead to errors. Here are some tips to help workers feel less overwhelmed.

By Karla Brandau

Because of thunder storms in Atlanta, my flight from Dallas to Atlanta had been delayed twice. On the third attempt, we boarded and I felt hopeful of that we'd finally get off the ground.

Those hopes faded fast, however, when the tired-looking flight attendant came down the aisle quietly announcing that if we were not permitted to take off in the next 15 minutes, the crew would have exceeded their 16-hour work day and passengers would have to taxi back to the terminal and await another flight.

After the crew's time expired and as we taxied back to the terminal, I felt mixed emotions. I kept thinking, "But we were right there ready to take off. How could 1-1/2 more hours matter?"

Just as airlines are concerned about overworked pilots and flight attendants, employers should be concerned about overworked employees. Why? Errors, accidents and low productivity, for a start.

My mixed emotions as we taxied back to the terminal are similar to the signals our culture sends today about long work hours. In one breath we agree with employees having a pity party about how hard they work and with the other breath, we award employees a "red badge of courage" for having the guts to go the extra mile.

A study by the New York-based Families and Work Institute concludes that overworked employees could be a serious problem.

Employees who are overworked are more likely to exhibit anxiety, make mistakes at work, harbor angry feelings about their employer for expecting them to be on the job for long hours, and resent co-workers who don't pull their share of the load.

The study finds that nearly half of employees who feel overworked report that their health is poor. In addition, nearly one-quarter (21 percent) of employees who are overworked experience symptoms of clinical depression, compared to 8 percent of employees who are not overworked.

Helping Employees Feel Less Overwhelmed

What can the organization do to help employees feel less overworked while still finishing their tasks in a given day? Using time efficiently at work is an individual and an organizational issue.

On the organizational side, managers can help employees by:

* Offering training in time-management principles;

* Discouraging the practice of eating at desks and working through lunch;

* Insisting employees use vacation time;

* Permitting flexible-work hours when appropriate;

* Encouraging non-interrupt zones during the day so workers can focus on their tasks;

* Assigning tasks well in advance of the deadline; and

* Helping employees be more effective.

A tried and true principle states that to be efficient, you must first be effective. For instance, the maker of buggy whips might be highly efficient in manufacturing techniques, but if no one buys the buggy whips, the process is not effective.

To encourage efficiency and effectiveness, managers can:

* Have clearly stated goals with built-in deadlines;

* Insist employees make a daily "to do" list;

* Make certain equipment works properly;

* Supply the necessary materials for job completion; and

* Train employees on software packages that enable more efficient work.

Ensuring the above items are taken care of is essential to help employees leverage their time and be more productive in the office.At the same time, workers will feel less overwhelmed and be enabled to do more in less time.