Employees’ High Workload
Daniela Duran
Employees’ High Workload
Healthcare organizations throughout the world are affected by a variety of healthcare concerns or stress. All issues must be addressed immediately to prevent further escalation; however, some are more pressing and important. One of the key stressors in this scenario is high employee workload, which appears to be the most severe difficulty in the healthcare sector. A high workload happens when the quantity and intensity of one’s tasks exceed the limits of what can logically be handled in a specific function (Gu & Itoh, 2020). Additionally, the workload may result from a particular corporation attempting to minimize expenses or how work is managed or allocated to an individual. Recognizing a high workload in a healthcare firm is a critical first step toward achieving one’s career goals and seeking work-life balance.
Impact of Employees’ High Workload in the Healthcare Organization
In a healthcare facility with few employees, the overwhelming workload has several effects that, if not immediately addressed, could result in inefficiency. Employee stress and burnout are a few effects. According to reports from the American Institute of Stress, 80% of workers and managers in the healthcare industry report feeling stressed out at work (Shenje & Wushe, 2019). An excessive workload and extended workdays are among the primary sources of stress.
As a result, workplace stress causes other issues like competitiveness among coworkers and a hostile work atmosphere. Burnout is a side effect of workload and job stress. Burnout, a form of ongoing job pressure that reduces effectiveness and depletes one’s energy, is described by the World Health Organization (Shenje & Wushe, 2019). Because they feel they have no control over their workload, overworked workers become burned out. Employees lose mental contact with their coworkers and become pessimistic about their situation.
Furthermore, a heavy workload harms one’s career in the healthcare industry. While it may seem contradictory, work overload might harm an otherwise promising career. According to the Harvard Business Review, when employees are given more work than they can logically handle, their work performance suffers (Gu & Itoh, 2020). Working long hours at high speed may garner applause initially, but the work mode quickly becomes the expected norm and performance benchmark. A little inability to consistently deliver high-quality work may harm merit pay eligibility, performance assessments, and promotions. Furthermore, workload negotiations may fail if the employer is not sympathetic and believes the employee is inefficient, sluggish, or a complainer.
A summary of Articles Discussing Employees’ High Workload
(Zarei et al. (2019) explain that a growing issue in the healthcare industry, particularly among primary healthcare workers, is burnout, which is caused by increased employee burden. Younger, unmarried, and less experienced employees were more likely to experience burnout. Therefore, avoiding employee burnout requires preventative measures like copying, communication, social skill development, and stress management techniques.
Additionally, according to (Angioha et al., 2020), there is a link between employees’ well-being and their level of overworking. The findings showed that seminars and training programs were needed to encourage a healthy lifestyle, a healthy working environment, and conduct among health professionals.
Strategies for Addressing the Issue of Employees’ High Workload
Most businesses in industries other than healthcare, including transportation or industry, have found creative solutions to the problem of excess employee workload. Utilizing the skills of coworkers and team members is an effective tactic. Freeing up time to provide each project with the highest concentration, strength, and energy is the most straightforward and most successful technique to handle a particular assignment. To ensure the actual completion of tasks, it is crucial to allow for teamwork rather than remote work (Gu & Itoh, 2020). Every time a task is assigned that does not fit the individual’s unique skills, they are allowed to execute one that does, giving everyone at work more power.
References
Angioha, P. U., Omang, T. A., Ishie, E. U., & Iji, M. E. (2020). Employee Stressors and Well-being of Healthcare Workers in Government owned Hospitals in Calabar, Nigeria. Journal of Public Administration, 2(4), 2020.
Gu, X., & Itoh, K. (2020). A comparative study on healthcare employee satisfaction between Japan and China. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 35(1), 171–184.
Shenje, J., & Wushe, T. (2019). An analysis of the relationship between occupational stress and employee job performance in public health care institutions: A case study of public hospitals in Harare. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(1), 1–11.
Zarei, E., Ahmadi, F., Sial, M. S., Hwang, J., Thu, P. A., & Usman, S. M. (2019). Prevalence of burnout among primary health care staff and its predictors: A study in Iran. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(12), 2249.
