Glossary: HR & Recruiting Definitions
The definition of overworking is an employee who works too much. This could be through working a significant amount of overtime, having a workload that is too much for them, or having a noticeably poor work-life balance. It is an act that can often lead to burnout.
The most obvious cause of overworking is a workload that is too heavy. This can easily happen if a team is understaffed or a large project is underway. While in the short term this can be manageable, working overtime, or having too much work assigned to an individual can become a cause for concern.
Another cause of overworking can be bad company culture. If a team feel as though they will be penalised for taking breaks, finishing on time or striving for a healthy work-life balance then they may push themselves into overworking.
Performing too much work for a prolonged period of time can have detrimental effects on an employee’s health. If overworked too long it can lead to:
If multiple employees or a whole team are overworked, it can also have hugely negative effects on a business. Some examples include:
Being able to tell the signs of an employee who is taking on too much work is the best way to combat it! Some of the common signs that an employee is overworking are as follows:
If an employee is showing the above symptoms, it’s important to take action to avoid them reaching a full occupational burnout. Ignoring the problem, or continuing to provide the employee with too much work can lead to health problems and severed relationships between the employee and management.
Some simple steps you can take to rectify this situation include:
Having a company culture that prevents overworking is the best way to combat overworking in your business. Find out how you can implement this in over on our blog:
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