ASK THE HEADHUNTER Over-Worked: Boss is killing us softly

[deanwebb]

Over-Worked: Boss is killing us softly

A reader who manages a shrinking team asks how much extra work the remaining workers can possibly do, in the July 14, 2020 Ask The Headhunter Newsletter. Question My boss just laid off five members of the team I manage and directed that we pick up the slack. So we've each been doing multiple jobs. At first it seemed like a challenge and everybody got to it, but now it's killing me and my team. We all want to prove we're worth keeping in this grim economy, but we are working over 60 hours a week, some of us including

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Source: Over-Worked: Boss is killing us softly

[deanwebb]

This one bears a full reading. We in IT especially have to learn how to draw lines and then not cross over them. If you were kept after a layoff, it was either because you're that good and can't be let go or because they think you're good enough to do the work and soft-hearted enough to take on the extra load.

You don't get work-life balance unless you make your own case and enforce your own rules. Yes, I will work extra time when the short-term situation demands. Short-term.

After I've had a short term of extra work, I make sure I take some short term comp time. I just do it. If a boss doesn't like that, then I start a job search and then burn sick days and PTO. I never say flat out that I'm leaving, but I can drop hints like, "I still like working here, but if I left, it would be because of..." Translation: If you want to keep me around, you better fix what I complained about, and fast.

[Otanx]

I will second Dean. This is a good read. Especially with us all working from home. Many of us for the first time. Make sure you set boundaries, and keep that work/life balance. Being a contractor there is always a push to please the customer, but that isn't always the right answer. Sometimes pleasing the customer in the short term will cause them to be unhappy later when the staff leaves, and nothing is getting done. If it is a one time thing to complete a project then cool. If it becomes a constant extra hours then it is time to address it before people burn out.

As an example I did a week recently where I hit 52 hours around lunch time on Thursday. We had three back to back deployments that week. I took Friday off. Made it a long weekend. I will have intermittent long weeks for the next few months while we do these deployments, but I will also be flexing that as needed to keep me close to 40 hours a week. There is also an end in site for this. Once we get these deployed then I can go back to my normal 40 and take long lunches, or skip out early to go to the lake.

-Otanx