Manage Up for Greater Well-being at Work

How do you respond when your boss asks you to take on more work than you can manage? How risky does it feel to ask for what you need?

Not long ago, a client shared with me that her boss told her she needed to take on an increasing number of work tasks that she felt were outside her job description. She told him that inventing the new position she had been hired for was already a tall order. But he insisted, citing pressure from higher-ups. After trying to accommodate the new workload, my client realized she was super stressed out, losing sleep and facing burnout—just six months into her new job. She said she might have to leave the job to maintain her health.

 Talking this out with me, she realized she needed to have a candid crucial conversation with her boss about the work she was able to do by herself and the tasks she would need additional staff support to accomplish. She committed to a plan to do just that and later shared that she had been able to come to a win-win solution for herself and her boss.

 If you’re working too hard and/or dealing with a supervisor who has unrealistic expectations, think about what changes are needed to enable you to better align what you can accomplish and feel good about and your own well-being. Could you see yourself speaking up honestly with your boss about the situation? To increase the odds of a mutually acceptable outcome, take into consideration the pressures your boss is likely under. Be open to compromise. But don’t delay, your health may hang in the balance. If you don’t take good care of yourself, who will?