{"id":3199,"date":"2023-08-07T04:42:12","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T04:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/?page_id=3199"},"modified":"2023-08-19T10:20:14","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T10:20:14","slug":"the-workload-breaking-point","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/odibles\/the-workload-breaking-point\/","title":{"rendered":"The Workload Breaking Point"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"i-page\" data-elementor-id=\"3199\" class=\"elementor elementor-3199\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6c71e21 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con\" data-id=\"6c71e21\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;motion_fx_motion_fx_scrolling&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;motion_fx_translateY_effect&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;,&quot;motion_fx_translateY_speed&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:4,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;motion_fx_translateY_affectedRange&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;%&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:{&quot;start&quot;:0,&quot;end&quot;:100}},&quot;motion_fx_devices&quot;:[&quot;desktop&quot;,&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;mobile&quot;]}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d3f1b70 e-con-full e-flex e-con\" data-id=\"d3f1b70\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;full&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7888e90 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7888e90\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Workload Breaking Point<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2922e46 e-con-full e-flex e-con\" data-id=\"2922e46\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;full&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-279d1a0 imagefloat elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"279d1a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/icontent\/uploads\/2023\/07\/o-workload-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large i-image-1334\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/icontent\/uploads\/2023\/07\/o-workload-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/icontent\/uploads\/2023\/07\/o-workload-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/icontent\/uploads\/2023\/07\/o-workload-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/icontent\/uploads\/2023\/07\/o-workload-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/icontent\/uploads\/2023\/07\/o-workload-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7c58e5e e-con-full e-flex e-con\" data-id=\"7c58e5e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;full&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-710dcd4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"710dcd4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>In this episode, we hear from Bail. He was once a reliable and valued member of his team but now feels overwhelmed by his workload. The increasing pressure, interpersonal conflicts in the team, and sacrifices made for work, have taken a toll on his well-being, leading to burnout and a loss of motivation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-69ce2be elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"69ce2be\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-divider{--divider-border-style:none;--divider-border-width:1px;--divider-color:#0c0d0e;--divider-icon-size:20px;--divider-element-spacing:10px;--divider-pattern-height:24px;--divider-pattern-size:20px;--divider-pattern-url:none;--divider-pattern-repeat:repeat-x}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider{display:flex}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__text{font-size:15px;line-height:1;max-width:95%}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__element{margin:0 var(--divider-element-spacing);flex-shrink:0}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-icon{font-size:var(--divider-icon-size)}.elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider-separator{display:flex;margin:0;direction:ltr}.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon .elementor-divider-separator,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text .elementor-divider-separator{align-items:center}.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon .elementor-divider-separator:before,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text .elementor-divider-separator:before{display:block;content:\"\";border-bottom:0;flex-grow:1;border-top:var(--divider-border-width) var(--divider-border-style) var(--divider-color)}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider .elementor-divider-separator>.elementor-divider__svg:first-of-type{flex-grow:0;flex-shrink:100}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider-separator:before{content:none}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider__element{margin-left:0}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider .elementor-divider-separator>.elementor-divider__svg:last-of-type{flex-grow:0;flex-shrink:100}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider-separator:after{content:none}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider__element{margin-right:0}.elementor-widget-divider:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text):not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon) .elementor-divider-separator{border-top:var(--divider-border-width) var(--divider-border-style) var(--divider-color)}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern{--divider-border-style:none}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern.elementor-widget-divider--view-line .elementor-divider-separator,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:before,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not([class*=elementor-widget-divider--view]) .elementor-divider-separator{width:100%;min-height:var(--divider-pattern-height);-webkit-mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;-webkit-mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);background-color:var(--divider-color);-webkit-mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url);mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url)}.elementor-widget-divider--no-spacing{--divider-pattern-size:auto}.elementor-widget-divider--bg-round{--divider-pattern-repeat:round}.rtl .elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__text{direction:rtl}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-divider,.e-con>.elementor-widget-divider{width:var(--container-widget-width,100%);--flex-grow:var(--container-widget-flex-grow)}<\/style>\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d1cc48f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d1cc48f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>I\u2019ve always been one of the go-to people on my team. I loved that! But a while ago, everything changed, and now I\u2019m drowning. I\u2019m very organized but there is just too much on my plate. I\u2019m constantly wrapping up my work really late or starting very early in the morning to get everything done.<\/p><p>A few months ago, I was given a very important new project. I struggled to make space for the additional work. And there were just too many hiccups from the get-go. One of my team members, Cass, just kept pushing internal deadlines. The quality of her work wasn\u2019t always so great either.<\/p><p>I\u2019m not sure what was going on with her, but we had to revise our deadlines <em>so<\/em> many times that it didn\u2019t seem we would meet our target completion date. Things became so inconsistent that Jay, my supervisor, asked me to take on her work and speed things along.<\/p><p>Ok, so I usually don\u2019t mind extra work and am always up for a challenge. But piling on all these responsibilities, on top of everything else that was already in my work plan, was really too much. It felt like I was running the whole thing by myself. And that I was endlessly playing catch up with all the other things I <em>also<\/em> have to complete on time. I was just constantly putting out fires, but not achieving enough. It was overwhelming.<\/p><p>To top it all off, Cass\u2019s passive-aggressive behavior wasn\u2019t helping either. There was no open resentment. But my emails would not be answered for days. Or any project-related information I asked for would somehow take ages to be found. I can understand that I had taken over all the work she was responsible for\u2014but I didn\u2019t take it from her in a literal sense. I didn\u2019t snatch it away! I was also assigned to do all this with no fair warning. So, why couldn\u2019t things just be easier?! We can all just get along, you know\u2014it\u2019s not about any of <em>us<\/em>, it\u2019s about the larger goals we have at work!<\/p><p>I really didn\u2019t need any of this. All this pressure was affecting me in ways I didn\u2019t even expect. Things were getting stressful at home because of it\u2014I was working so late in the evening for weeks, that I barely saw my kids at the end of the day. I had also started working most weekends. And, you know what, it didn\u2019t even matter if I didn\u2019t work on the weekend\u2014I was just too tired from the stresses of the week. I had no energy to do things with the family.<\/p><p>I was irritable and short-tempered. All the time. They didn\u2019t deserve that! But I wasn\u2019t sleeping well and was just always preoccupied with what was happening at work. I was just <em>so<\/em> tired, and I couldn\u2019t help being this way. So, I had a talk with Jay about all this. And what followed probably wasn\u2019t the best thing that could have happened.\u00a0 He decided to reassign some of my work to other team members, just so I could focus completely on the project. He thought he was doing me a favor. No one saw that coming. So that did not go down so well.<\/p><p>Everyone&#8217;s juggling a lot of different things\u2014you know\u2014there\u2019s a lot going on. And they felt they now got dumped with all my work. It\u2019s caused a lot of confusion and tension between us. And it\u2019s just made everything worse. Our team used to work <em>so<\/em> well together, now everyone is just on edge with each other. This situation has really added to my stress at work.<\/p><p>To be honest, I feel completely burnt out. I dread turning on my laptop in the morning. Once I start working, I really need to push myself to make it through the day. I used to love my job, but now I\u2019m just going through the motions. I\u2019m extremely demotivated and counting the seconds till I can finish work and switch off. I\u2019m not sure what to do next. I just want to get back to feeling like my old self again. \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0592ec4 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"0592ec4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cb9ce25 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cb9ce25\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Office of the Ombudsperson has heard concerns about workload for a while now. These issues are varied, ranging from perceptions about unfairly assigned work, to being assigned tasks that are outside the concerned employee\u2019s workplan. More recently, the office has seen a surge in workload-related concerns where staff members have expressed physical and emotional exhaustion and have questioned the sustainability of their workload.<\/p><p>In our observation, the most pressing concern is that organizational cultures, in general, may not always prioritize wellness. People glorify the \u2018hustle\u2019 and associate ambition and success with end-goals, while ignoring the negative effects on health and wellbeing. The ADB community is no exception to this trend.<\/p><p>So, what can supervisors and managers do to tackle this issue? One approach could be for supervisors and managers to reimagine workload management.<\/p><p>They must consider a holistic approach that prioritizes both the wellbeing and productivity of their teams, because work stresses can have negative impacts on both employee wellbeing \u00a0as well as on organizations. Supervisors and managers need to remain mindful that our post-pandemic new ways of working are different and will continue to require adjustments and support.<\/p><p>With the help of productivity tools and other resources, managers can take a thoughtful approach to workload management. Consideration should be given to equitable and reasonable allocation of work, considering everyone\u2019s existing responsibilities and matching employee skill sets to tasks.<\/p><p>This will also facilitate in communicating clarity of roles, and other expectations, because when tasks are reassigned from one person to another without careful thought, accountability is deferred and becomes unclear. Redistribution of tasks without careful consideration of everyone\u2019s existing workload may also contribute to tensions and conflicts between team members, reflecting poor management.<\/p><p>Work-related conflicts may also arise due to poor communication regarding tasks and reassignments. Providing reasons, rationales, in these instances, can minimize misunderstandings and conflicts.<\/p><p>Teams grappling with workload concerns often face interpersonal conflicts which can lower morale, decrease motivation, and in the end, reduce productivity. Additionally, the ombuds office has identified a correlation between workload concerns and mental health and well-being issues: being overworked is a contributing factor to burnout.<\/p><p>Organizations must acknowledge that burnout is \u201can occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed\u201d. It can have significant physiological and psychological consequences that may require a combination of medication and professional counseling. Recovery from burnout is a lengthy process that often requires therapy and medication. This is contrary to the popular belief that taking a few days off will cure it.<\/p><p>In conclusion, reimagining our perception of workload and its concerns, adopting a holistic approach to addressing them, and engaging staff and management in more conversations around employee wellness could result in a cultural shift in ADB\u2019s work practices. This shift would make the transition to the New Operating Model less stressful and more seamless.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b8820b3 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"b8820b3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-xs\" href=\"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/odibles\/#workload\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon elementor-align-icon-left\">\n\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"icon icon-arrow-left-circle\"><\/i>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Odibles<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Workload Breaking Point In this episode, we hear from Bail. He was once a reliable and valued member of his team but now feels overwhelmed by his workload. The increasing pressure, interpersonal conflicts in the team, and sacrifices made for work, have taken a toll on his well-being, leading to burnout and a loss &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/odibles\/the-workload-breaking-point\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Workload Breaking Point<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1300,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/ijson\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3199"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/ijson\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/ijson\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/ijson\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/ijson\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3199"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/ijson\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5239,"href":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/ijson\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3199\/revisions\/5239"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/ijson\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edzelle.com\/ombuds-2022-annual-report\/ijson\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}