If it seems like you’re always stretched too thin and never have enough time to complete your work before three new projects are handed down to you — always with the instructions that they’re high–priority — you probably need to talk with your manager about your workload. Here are five steps for talking to your manager when your workload is overwhelming.
Your manager doesn’t know your workload
You’re the person paying the most attention to your workload, not your manager — and s/he may assume that since you’re not speaking up, there isn’t a problem. So let him/her know about it.
Talk to your manager
Pick a time when your manager is’t rushed and ask to talk about your workload. Explain that it has become unmanageable and why (for instance, that you’ve taken on the responsibilities of someone who left without anything being removed from your plate, or that a particular account has doubled in size in the last year.)
Suggest options
You’re most likely to get the help that you need if you come prepared to talk about options. For instance, you might say, “I can do A and B, but not C. Or if C is really important, I’d want to move A off my plate to make room for it. Alternately, I can act as an adviser to Jane on C, but I can’t do the work of C myself if I’m also doing A and B.”
Making the best choice
If your manager resists making these kinds of trade–offs, you need to keep pushing the issue. If your manager won’t help you prioritise, then come up with your own proposal for what you will and won’t prioritise and ask him/her to tweak it or OK it
Enforce boundaries
To take on something new when your plate is already full, you need to either get rid of something else or at least push it back. So if a new project comes your way, go to your manager and ask about trade–offs.
Courtesy of: AOL Jobs
