How To Balance Team Workloads Before Resourcing Becomes A Problem

Little will frustrate your team members more than to listen to their feedback and not make any changes. Their resentment will fester (not to mention, their burnout will increase) while you either keep going as normal or continue to tell them, “We just have to get through this busy time. Or this project. Or this quarter. And then we can reevaluate.”

Yet, that’s what far too many managers do. 59% of employees say that their employer has asked for their feedback, but 18% of employees say they don’t actually see any meaningful changes following those conversations.

There are things you can do to shift around priorities, reassign tasks, and extend deadlines to relieve some pressure on your team. 

But, here’s the hard-to-hear truth: No amount of juggling will fix a workload that’s overwhelming in the first place. 

That’s why you need to recognize when it’s time to set firm boundaries for your team, such as: 

• Telling another department that you’re unable to meet a request in their timeline
• Prioritizing a task and giving team members permission to completely table others
• Regularly evaluating what tasks are making an impact and eliminating ones that aren’t.

These types of decisions can be hard to make (especially for leaders who are used to saying “yes” and making it work), but it’s part of the responsibility of being a manager.