How to tell your boss that you are overworked
By Binu Paul, SiliconIndia   |   Friday, 10 June 2011, 03:04 IST   |    10 Comments
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How to tell your boss that you are overworked
Are you overworked? You feel like a stranger being with your family and friends, because they got used to not having you around; you miss the special events of your family; you force yourself to adjust to the fact that you do compromise your habits and social life for your job - these are the symptoms that you are overworked. And you reach to this point where you have to convey to your boss that your workload is too heavy; here are some ways that would help you to do it. Present your work schedule You can present your work schedule to your boss, not as a conflict but to seek his suggestion on how best you can manage the workload. Present your current projects, deadlines, and pending assignments. Let it be a detailed analysis of your job explaining all the responsibilities assigned to you, the required, the depth of strain that goes into these, and any additional works that goes beyond your job description. You can also explain him how the heavy workload affects your effectiveness at work. Discuss solutions Let the talk be a healthy one where you seek suggestions to reduce your workload or to find ways to better manage it. While you present your concerns, do make sure that your boss understands that you intend a discussion that should ideally be aimed at finding solutions and to figure out what can be eliminated or delegated. If you have some suggestions or solutions already thought about, throw them out to your boss and it will add more value to the meeting. If your boss respects your worth in the organization, he wouldn't risk the possibility of losing a valuable employee by ignoring the option of lessening your workload. Get your works prioritized When you make your boss understand that you are assigned with more tasks than what you can achieve, it's highly important that you get them prioritized. With proper presentation of you assignments in order of importance and required timeframe, you manager with his experience, can suggest you new ideas to help them prioritize. Emphasize on a work planner that will enable you to focus the most part of your day on the highest priorities. You should compile adequate information about your projects and responsibilities before approaching your boss so that you can explain him everything with possible solutions. Be bold and straightforward A self contemplation over your honesty at work should be done before you step into his room. The feeling that your points are genuine and valid, will give you the confidence to talk to him straightforward. Maintain the eye-contact which will convey that you are not nervous or dishonest, but serious and assertive. Be bold to put forward your issues, but do not get into his cabin with your temper flaring. Talk at the right time Be professional; make a formal appointment to have a closed door meeting to discuss the work related issues. The boss too is loaded with work, so you should seek a convenient time when he can spend enough time with you where you don't have to wrap up the meeting in a hurry. You wouldn't like your subordinates around when you discuss this matter with your manager, so ensure you ask for a personal one-on-one discussion. This will encourage a more interactive discussion which can result greater understanding between both. It's not necessary that your boss listen to all your issues. However, these steps can help you to a great extent to make that happen. What do else you feel need to be taken care of when someone decides to approach his boss for the same? Your comments are invited.