How do I deal with feeling overworked?

Didn’t i mention many directors and VPs are resigning? Lol I used to be happy but now I’m not. I’m going for my master’s degree which they are paying for so it’s the only thing that’s keeping me here.

Not that normal but it’s becoming more common. I feel for you, my wife had basically the same job, same line of B.S. about getting help or relief. She would come home miserable late every night, worked weekends too. I was doing the same thing at the time, 70 hour weeks, stress and no end in sight. Frankly our marriage was in jeapordy because we were both overworked. I found a new job with better hours and she quit and has been through a couple other jobs in HR but they all ended up the same because she never set boundaries.
I still see it all the time, the people who can do a job well just get more and more work piled on them. How you deal with that is you likely need to start looking for other employment and when you find it set some hard boundaries. You’re doing the work of everyone else and once you get into that cycle it is hard to get out of it. It took me a long time to learn to set limits myself.
The fact that directors and VPs are resigning probably signals the end of the company anyway.

Unfortunately, yes….this is the “new normal”.

Believe it or not, there was a time when the personal / family time of employees was considered kind of sacred, and out-of-bounds in terms of exploiting someone with a high work ethic. Now, that person is expected to shut up and play the “chump” role (“Hey….you don’t like it….??.......We’ll get someone else”.....)

Some smaller companies still respect the health and personal lives of their employees, but even a lot of them (and their accountants) are exponentially turning to The Dark Side as we speak.

On the upside, you are by no means alone.

On the downside…...well…..where to begin….??

The cost of human “labor” has become so expensive that there is increasing pressure for more output at the same cost. Especially if the worker is good at what they do.
The choices are have more workers, each of whom work for less or have fewer workers each of whom works for more.
More people are looking for the highest paying job possible, not the lowest paying job possible.
Thus, those jobs will be points of concentration of the labor to recapture the cost of labor.
That’s why low skilled jobs are disappearing.
That’s why you are seeing more and more technology that seems to be replacing human labor.
That is why your doctor visits are only about 10 minutes and perfunctory when they occur.

I don’t think you can escape it. Unless you find a job that you love so much, it doesn’t really seem like work.

If I recall, you work in a college. This overwork is becoming more and more common as budgets are slashed. Nevertheless, you may not want to work there if it stays that way. Can you write up and document what you have been doing and e-mail it to the Interim Director? Maybe he/she can at least not give you the new project right now until an assistant is hired. People are being stretched to their limit.

I’ve been this guy so many times, I feel for you, it just creeps up on you. One thing that worked well for me…

Funkdaddy’s 3 Step Plan to a less obnoxious work schedule…

1) Tell your boss the hours are starting to affect you and the rest of your life. You don’t have to be real specific, and generally I make it really clear I’m OK with working extra hours when it’s really needed. The unstated portion is you’re not OK with it being the norm, and it’s become that. Say you’re going to be trying to get back to a better balance and will probably have a few things to do after hours (7 or 8 o’clock) and weekends. I generally try to schedule around “busy times” for whatever work you’re doing. No one who works at an established company where you aren’t in leadership can possibly justify saying “No, you can’t have plans on nights and weekends… ever” if they try, you know what you’re dealing with. Find another job.

2) So now make plans. Whatever you’re missing now, schedule some. Those plans can be “dinner plans” with your microwave and couch, it doesn’t really matter. If you say you need to leave at 7, work like you’re leaving at 7, ask for help if something needs to be done today and won’t be done by 7, and then leave at 7. There is nothing wrong with leaving work after a long day and there’s always going to be more to do.

3) (the hard part for me when I have to request boundaries that should be known) Remember it isn’t you vs. “the job”, you’re expanding your life to have more. Be honest if something is a real emergency at work when you can reschedule your other plans. Basically, still step up when you want to without worrying it’s going to become the norm. If you make it a battle then everyone gets miserable and defensive, so it’s a delicate balance.

Most people aren’t horrible people. They just look for ways to get work done and right now you’re a sponge that keeps absorbing work. Let them know you’re full. Every day and every project can’t be an emergency so you need to set yourself up with norms you’re happy with.

@janbb I suspect he won’t be here much longer because I’m having lunch with a Hr director candidate with my coworker’s next month. I know he or she will review our duties. Yes, I think the budget is lower and many are leaving due to more pay elsewhere. He did say let him know if I’m overwhelmed… I hate to seem weak but I guess if I’m at the braking point I will ask.

This is not necessary, and a good manager will appreciate your honesty.
Your job is to set reasonable expectations.
You could consider keeping an explicit timeline/resource chart that you show the manager regularly. When the new project is assigned, you pull out your project plan and give him a date when that will be started and projected completion. If everything is ASAP then does the new one got to the front of the line or the back of the line of ASAPs?
If your manager isn’t ready/willing/able to actually manage your productivity wisely, you might as well do it yourself. If the manager is smart and lazy they will take you up on it.
Get your name on your work so that manager’s bosses know who you are.

I work in the academic sector and I too have seen and experienced increasing workloads. It’s important to document what you’re doing, and that you are feeling overwhelmed. Your manager has asked you to inform them if you’re feeling overworked, so do that. send an email documenting your responsibilities, where this workload has increased, that you are regularly having to do overtime (I’m guessing unpaid) and are feeling stressed because of your workload. You could let them know your well-being i being affected. [Keybrd problem].xxx

You are in the position where the company doesn’t want to give up work, but wants to cut staff. This is very common these days, unfortunately. There aren’t really any good answers. You can try looking at the tasks you are doing and see which of them really don’t add value or if there are some which can be combined to cut back on the paperwork. If you identify these, put out the suggestion for the change yourself. I don’t know your financial situation, but you could look for other employment. You can just stop putting in all the hours. When things start to bunch up, then they will see that you are working 40+ hours a week and still not being able to keep up and will have to find you some help. This one is tough for a lot of people because we all want to do a good job and not let anything slip. But in the end, you have to ask yourself one simple question: Do you live to work or do you work to live? If you live to work, stop complaining…that’s what you are doing. If you work to live, then you need to give yourself some time for life.

Thanks. There is a rumor he may be staying and getting hired on, we’ll see. He did say to speak up if I’m overwhelmed. The last few days slowed down a bit but I was still busy, we’ll see how it goes but you’re all right. I should stop trying to worry about pleasing everyone so much that wants things done NOW NOW NOW so they can see how busy I am. I hate that everyone demands something from me and everyone’s needs are SO URGENT.

Do document your workload though @chelle21689. That way if you are ever criticised, you can demonstrate you’ve raised the issue with your superior. Put it in writing and copy HR in. If you can see any solutions to your workload, put those in your email too. Personally, I would start it with ‘Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak up if my workload is leaving me overwhelmed. I would like to take you up on your offer. ... then outline what’s happening and how it’s affecting you.

This will provide a record in case he does move on and someone else takes over.

@chelle21689 You also have to find a way to prioritize and tell some people that you can’t do it for them Right Now! It’s hard to do when they are your superiors but you have to find a way to tactfully do it.

I usually tell them an expected time and let them know if it’ll be later. I just wish he would know how much all the “great new changes” affect us on the backend making a process take longer. Yesterday I couldn’t get anything done because as soon as I got back from lunch I had nothing but people walking in non-stop for papers and questions for 2 hours. He didn’t realize it and told me how quiet it was that afternoon and I told him what had happened.
Funny as a consultant before he was interim he told the president we were understaffed and he was impressed by so much I was taking on yet isn’t fighting more in his role to get this new position request pushed through when it’s been months and everyone else gets theirs approved. Probably because we are Hr. We aren’t profitable maybe.