Technology is supposed to make our working lives more efficient. Yet paradoxically many of us feel busier than ever before. The pressures of heavier workloads, to-do lists that keep growing, and requests that demand an immediate response, are leaving some workers feeling overwhelmed.
Employers have a duty of care to their staff to ensure their health, wellbeing and safety. However, in a highly competitive job market, in which working hours are increasing, it can be hard to raise concerns about feeling overwhelmed with a manager: nobody wants their boss to think they are not up to the job.
The idea that productivity is a personal responsibility that can be solved through better time management is problematic, wrote Oliver Burkemen in a recent article. “The truth is that more often than not, techniques designed to enhance one’s personal productivity seem to exacerbate the very anxieties they were meant to allay,” he wrote.
How to tell your boss you are overwhelmed.
Coping strategies for heavy workloads.
How managers can make sure they do not put too much pressure on staff.
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Sarah Archer is a qualified career coach, and co-founder of CareerTree. She specialises in helping people change career to find work they love, and regularly advises clients on effective interview strategies.
Hilda Burke is a UKCP and BACP accredited psychotherapist. She works as an integrated psychotherapist, life coach and couples’ counsellor at her practice Hilda Burke Psychotherapy in West London.
Sarah Connell is a business psychologist and founder of MindingMe Psychologists. She understands the psychology of coaching from a cognitive-behavioural perspective and works with people to help them to understand how their thoughts affect their performance.
Diana Dawson is a career psychologist. She owns and runs Working Career, where she works with individuals and organisations on career change and career development to help them become happier, more fulfilled and productive at work.