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Yes I have. And it was documented exactly the tasks and time needed to complete. Funny how my boss scrambled since they paid zero overtime for my work. He didn't dare fire me or write me up...He saw the results and realized someone didn't factor in all the details to achieve premium results.
Dept of Labor doesn't like employers who conveniently forget to pay overtime.
My position carried five departments...Sales,receiving,ordering,and admin office. Yet our corporate, had five employed to cover those tasks...Go figure.
In Denmark, it is common to report acute stress incidents. I did so once. I was given 3 months of paid leave and free access to counseling for a month, where I learned how not to impose stress upon myself as a way of getting my work done. I was 69 when this happened and went onto work at until I was 73. I still take odd engagements that look like they will be fun.
The thing is.... most managers want to know what you can actually handle. Overloading a group of people and having a higher turnover rate makes the manager look bad and sets the company up to fail. Each person is different and each person has a different threshold for burning out.
I used to tell my guys that they needed to let me know when they were at their capacity because its different for everyone. I would tell them that I would keep adding work until they told me to stop. Some did, some didn't. For those who didn't I would monitor their work to see if it appeared that they were becoming overloaded. If they were I adjusted their workload and we had another conversation where I reminded them that it was absolutely important that they let me know ahead of time. As a manager it's much easier to be proactive than reactive in these situations. By the time you have to react, the person is already burnt out and looking for an exit.
Most get burnt out from stress. To them I will give this tidbit of advice.
Imagine a pitcher of water on a table, and an empty glass next to it. When the glass is filled with water and you pick it up, how much does it weigh? 8 oz, 12 oz, 16 oz? If you hold that glass for a moment the weight doesn't matter. If you old onto that glass for an hour, it begins to get heavier. If you hold onto that glass for a day, your arm will become paralyzed and will no longer function appropriately. Stress works the same way. If you hold onto a problem for too long, you'll begin to be paralyzed to the point that you burn out. But the workload still remains the same size. Sometimes you just have to put the glass down. Telling your manager that you are overloaded is putting the glass down while they build a table to help hold it.
Absolutely have. An open and honest relationship with my boss and coworkers is a key component of a healthy work environment. In my field (IT) it's not uncommmon to work 60 or more hours a week and then take comp time after a deadline is met. One year I worked 14 hr overnights 6 days a week for 2 months. When we made it through that I took two weeks off without using a day of pdo. I had one employer I wouldn't have dare done this with and I left there as soon as I lined up another position.
I might, but I would also try to keep up with whatever performance standards I had.
I get burnt out rather easily. If a job was a lot of stress I might just leave instead of trying to fix it. It really depends on the personalities of the individuals involved.
Why wouldn't you tell your manager that you are overloaded? By doing so you can potentially address an impending disaster when you suddenly can no longer meet your task deadlines. By being proactive your manager can begin to balance the team's workload. By keeping quiet you are setting yourself up for failure.
To tell your manager that you are burnt out isn't complaining which I assume some of you may think you would be doing. Compare this to the temperature gauge of a car.... you would have no idea that the engine is overheating and about to fail until it does without it. But, you have a gauge that begins to warn you that something is wrong and needs to be addressed. At that point you can make the necessary repairs to correct the issue before it becomes an even bigger issue.
This is also another balancing act. I HATE being the bearer of bad news, especially when I have to tell people I report to that a deliverable needs another week's time, or something that's my fault. You can either try to compensate, and keep from piling on too many "I can't handle this in time" comments, but sometimes, management does appreciate accurate news. It can be a favor to report the bad news as well.
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