Work-Life Balance: Why Overworking Your Employees Makes Them Less Productive

Whether you work in a restaurant, an office, or a high-stress emergency room, a lack of productivity can occur due to excessive workloads. The problem is, many don’t understand that their employees are often not to blame when they are overworked. Employers are sometimes under the assumption that employees don’t care enough or want to slack their way through the day when this happens, yet it could be quite the opposite. Employees can simply feel overwhelmed to the point of exhaustion.

Here are some reasons why overworking your employees negatively impacts engagement and as a result, decreases productivity.

No Time for Team Bonding

If your employees are essentially “chained” to their workstations all day, the chances are that they aren’t receiving the social engagement and stimulation from interacting with their coworkers that they need. An appropriate amount of time for socialization and a humanized approach to managing your employees will encourage healthier bonding, which can assist with problem-solving and workplace co-operation. In turn, this will improve employee engagement, which can increase workplace efficiency.

Lack of Employee Empowerment

When your employees are left to man their desk for the day without any encouragement or support, they may begin to feel as if they aren’t doing well enough or aren’t meeting your expectations. This can lead to a reduction in productivity with them inadvertently overworking themselves as a means to secure recognition for their efforts. Empowering employees can be achieved simply by stopping by to say hello, see how they’re doing, and provide a few words of encouragement. Never forget that your employees chose to work under your employment. They applied for the job, and they deserve the appropriate amount of respect. If they didn’t want to be there, chances are they wouldn’t be.

An Imbalance of Work and Home Life

It’s crucial that your employees have a healthy work-life balance every week. Otherwise, they’re easily susceptible to being overworked, frustrated, and negatively impacting productivity (not to mention, they may throw their hands in the air and look elsewhere for fairer employment). Be sure to respect the need for this balance by scheduling appropriate working hours to ensure your workers have a balanced amount of time at home. Additionally, you could try giving them the option to telecommute and/or have a flexible work schedule. It will only positively impact your business in the long run.

Unreasonable Stress Build-Up

When overworked, employees naturally accumulate stress, the levels of which can escalate to a near-boiling point (which essentially is a warning sign of them being about to snap). Along the way to the extreme limit of their stress meter, the more stress the build-up can negatively impact their performance in the workplace, affecting productivity. Always be willing to respectfully discuss their workload with them, and ensure that they aren’t taking on more than what is fair to them.

Being overworked is no fun, but it is also no easy problem to solve if your employer isn’t willing to accept your humanity and listen. Treat your employees the way you would want to be treated, and don’t forget to practice what you preach.