Often, we talk about responsibility at work as a positive thing. A promotion will typically mean a growing list of responsibilities, for example. Many managers will also place the most responsibility on the shoulders of the people that they trust the most.
Unfortunately, too much pressure or an excessive list of responsibilities can also leave employees feeling frustrated, overworked, and unnecessarily stressed. It can be tough to identify when you cross that line. But, there are a few telling signs that you’re piling too much pressure on key employees, and we’ll consider them here.
High Turnover
A high turnover in any business could be due to a lot of different things, including your management style in general, and even just the kinds of people that you’re employing. But, if you notice a lot of staff members leaving shortly after you’ve extended their responsibilities, it could be a sign that this is the root of the issue. Equally, if a lot of employees who are in the position of, say, keyholder, jump ship, then perhaps that additional pressure is the problem.
Making sure that pay always reflects responsibility is a great way around this issue. Equally, try to keep responsibilities within a person’s role itself, as ‘surplus’ pressures like keyholding and team management, are often the things that will push employees over the edge.
Lost Sleep
Tired employees are more likely to fall ill, take time off, and suffer from generally low productivity. But, if work pressures are stressing employees out, then the chances are that they won’t be sleeping well. Equally, some responsibilities, like keyholding and alarm response, can see employees dragged into the office at any time of night, and still needing to turn up the next morning.
In terms of stress management, managers should always aim to keep workloads to a reasonable level within the working day, ensuring that no individual team member is ever overwhelmed to the extent that they take those worries home with them. It’s also worth outsourcing ‘nighttime’ responsibilities like alarm response where possible. That way, it’s far more likely that everyone will turn up feeling fresh, and ready to tackle their to-do list each working day.
Poor Morale
Poor morale is a harder metric to measure than most of the other things on this list. But signs including high turnover as mentioned, low office energy, and a lack of employee passion regarding projects all suggest that this issue is taking its toll. And, often, poor morale happens because people feel pushed, rushed, and overwhelmed in their work.
Morale-boosting exercises can always help with this, but you should also address the root of the problem by distributing workloads fairly and being seen to do what you can to reduce unnecessary pressures. Whether this means outsourcing, or taking more responsibilities on your shoulders where possible, it can help your team to feel happy, energized, and impassioned about their roles once more.
Don’t let employee pressures unravel your company – tackle these issues to keep your team happy!