Seven Principles for Managing Change / More Employers to Address Being Overwhelmed at Work
One of the top human resource challenges of 2015 will be addressing the issue of employees being overwhelmed at work, which often spills over into their personal lives.
More employers are seeing higher levels of employee burnout and stress and are addressing it at the organizational level. Developing policies and procedures that relieve employees’ sense of being overwhelmed at work and promote sustainable work habits will be one of the top organizational change management initiatives of 2015.
ClearRock’s executive coaching consultants are being called on more often to help organizations address the following five issues that contribute to employees’ sense of being overwhelmed:
- Demand for their time exceeds their capacity
- Burnout and feeling overwhelmed are increasing, especially at the executive level
- Employees find their work to be largely unfulfilling
- Workers don’t see sufficient opportunities for professional growth and learning
- Employees are not working at what they are best at doing
Data from two surveys confirms employees’ feelings of being overwhelmed and unsatisfied at work:
Only 29% of workers in the U.S. and Canada are actively engaged in their jobs, according to Gallup’s engagement survey. More than 7 out of 10 are not engaged in their jobs, meaning they lack motivation, with 2 out of 10 of these workers “actively disengaged,” indicating they are unhappy and unproductive at work and liable to spread negativity to coworkers.
60% of workers don’t perform the work they would most enjoy; 48% do not have opportunities for learning and growth; and 40% cannot balance work and home life or disengage from work, according to a survey by The Energy Project consulting firm.
Following are initiatives that some employers are taking to address employees being overwhelmed at work:
- Strengthening the delegation skills of managers so direct reports can take on more responsibility
- Building the communication skills of managers
- Ensuring the “right fit” between employees and work, with 80% of the work corresponding with the employee’s strengths – rather than the other way around, as is most often the case today
- Limiting the number of meetings to only those that are most essential
- Training employees in how to deal with information overload from emails, texts, calls and meetings
- Instructing employees in how to prioritize their work and more effectively manage their time
- Setting aside some time each day for workers to think and focus free of distractions
While reducing burnout and stress and employees’ feelings of being overworked and overwhelmed are exemplary initiatives, employers should follow ClearRock’s 7 Principles For Managing Change if they want to successfully implement any proposed changes. These steps include:
- Acquire broad-based support.The more involved others are in the change effort, the more supportive they will be.
- Ask employees for solutions.One of the biggest complaints employees have is that they feel they do not have input into decisions that affect them. Seek out their ideas for potential solutions.
- Build a mandate for change.Encourage others to accept change and help them understand its benefits and advantages.
- Lead by example.Changes will be more successful when management shows how they are also being affected.
- Manage the impact of change on others.Change requires patience and a willingness to give it the time it requires to succeed.
- Communicate fully and frequently.Both the benefits and any disadvantages of possible solutions must be communicated to all employees.
- Provide a forum for reaction.Employees need an opportunity to share information with each other and management, to ask questions, and discuss issues of concern.
