Managing your Employees Workload is Critical to Success – Here is Why

Cathie Leimbach • November 11, 2021

Your employees’ engagement and productivity are significantly impacted by how reasonable their workload is. More than ever, while we’re dealing with continued uncertainty due to the pandemic and a tight labor market, managing workload expectations is critical to ongoing performance and productivity. 

 

The research is compelling. Multiple studies have uncovered a strong connection between workload imbalance and stress, burnout, and lowered productivity:

  • The American Institute of Stress reported that 46% of workers cite unmanageable workloads as significant stress.
  • 26% of employees are often or very often burned out, and 22% are juggling to balance work and their personal life. 
  • Unreasonable heavy workloads cause stress and anxiety, leading to accidents, health issues, conflicts, and poor overall performance.
  • In a 2017 survey by Bizfluent, 60% of workers said that work-related pressure has increased over the past 5 years.
  • Not surprisingly, a recent study by KPMG reports that Covid 19 has increased work-related stress, with 94% of workers reporting stress and anxiety.

 

Employees who are stressed are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and health-related issues. Working longer hours leads to hypertension, fatigue, changes in mood and behavior, problems with focus, decreased motivation, and concentration issues. Covid 19 has exacerbated these symptoms, reduced productivity and employee engagement, and impacted many companies’ profitability. 

 

As the impact of the pandemic lingers, your team is still struggling with balancing family and work responsibilities and often doing more than their job as open positions become harder to fill.


As a manager, one of your critical roles is to advocate for what your team can and can’t reasonably accomplish and identify resources to support their efforts. The first step is to understand how each employee evaluates their workload and the support they need to succeed.

  • Prepare for one-on-one discussions by identifying what mental and physical demands your team members face to perform their responsibilities efficiently. 
  • Have one-on-one conversations with each direct report to evaluate their current workload:
  • Ask, “How are you doing with your overall workload?” “Are there additional resources you need?”
  • For each project, routinely check in by asking, “How is that project going?” “What can I do to support you?”
  • Work with each of your direct reports to uncover meaningless and time-consuming tasks. These typically drain energy, decrease productivity, and lead to a lack of motivation.
  • Identify ways to automate repetitive tasks if possible or find lower-cost resources to complete them.  Maximize your team’s focus and energy on doing the work that matters.
  • Manage deadlines – don’t let your lack of planning be your teams’ emergency. 
  • Plan ahead and create a reasonable project timeline, including a margin for the unexpected – because it always occurs.

 

Today, more than ever, managing each of your team members’ workload is critical. Doing more with less staff, reacting to ongoing uncertainty, and managing employees in different locations make communication and planning around workload and deadlines the key to success. Ensure that your team has what they need to succeed and reduce the scramble due to unreasonable deadlines and poor planning. Productivity, engagement, and employee motivation will increase, leading to higher retention and a better quality of work. 

Age and Gender Shape How Employees Want to Be Appreciated

By Cathie Leimbach • June 10, 2025
In today’s evolving workplace, one constant remains: employees want to feel valued. Interestingly, research comparing data from before and after COVID-19 shows that employees' preferred languages of appreciation have remained remarkably consistent over time. However, age and gender differences reveal important nuances leaders shouldn’t ignore. Gender differences are clear. Men more frequently chose Acts of Service as their preferred form of appreciation (26%), while women gravitated toward Words of Affirmation (46%). When asked about their least preferred language, women were more likely to rank Acts of Service at the bottom, while men showed a strong dislike for Tangible Gifts. Age also matters. Employees over 60 overwhelmingly preferred Words of Affirmation (48%), while the youngest generation (under 20) leaned toward Quality Time (33%). These trends suggest that life stage and workplace experience shape what appreciation feels most meaningful.  The takeaway? While core preferences haven't shifted dramatically post-COVID, effective leaders need to understand and respond to individual differences. Avoid blanket strategies and invest in knowing how each team member feels most valued. Personalized appreciation builds stronger teams—across every generation and gender. For further details, see Dr. Paul White’s article on gender differences in appreciation preference.

Why Better Leaders Mean Better Bottom Lines

By Cathie Leimbach • June 3, 2025
Let’s talk straight—leadership development isn’t just a “nice to have.” It’s the engine behind real economic progress. John Kotter, a world-renowned voice in leadership and change, made it clear: organizations don’t rise or fall on products alone—they succeed because of how well they lead through change. When leaders know how to cast vision, inspire action, and adapt quickly, the ripple effect is huge. Teams become more engaged. Strategy gets implemented faster. Resistance turns into momentum. And yes—revenue and results improve.  Kotter’s work shows that companies with strong leadership navigate uncertainty better and capture more market share during tough times. Why? Because effective leaders create clarity in the chaos. They don’t just manage—they lead change with purpose. If we want to strengthen our teams, our organizations, and even our communities, we have to prioritize leadership development. Not later—now. Because when leadership improves, so does everything else. That’s not just theory. That’s proven strategy. Click here to view the document: Better Leader = Better Bottom Lines and see why investing in leadership pays off. Let’s build leaders who build better futures.
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