The era of "Doing More With Less" is alive and well. Are you paying attention to the toll it's taking on your workers?


I remember working on a story for CIO Insight last spring about the era of “Doing More With Less.” The article looked at the modus operandi for that particular time, when economic pressures, cutbacks and uncertainty were forcing companies to work their employees to the bone.

I hate to keep saying it, but so many of those themes we discussed last year still feel very real—and for many, very uncomfortable.

The economy hasn’t exactly bounced back in a big way, unemployment is still high, and corporate leaders aren’t entirely sure what to expect next. As all this persists, workers are still left in a rut of endless hours and impossible-to-anticipate assignments.

Karla Brandau, CEO of the Workplace Power Institute, has a new piece in Human Resource Executive about overworked employees. She points out some very valid concerns for managers overseeing workers who’ve been pressed too hard—“Errors, accidents and low productivity—and cites a study from the Families and Work Institute that uncovered various problems with overworked employees:

“The study finds that nearly half of employees who feel overworked report that their health is poor. In addition, nearly one-quarter (21 percent) of employees who are overworked experience symptoms of clinical depression, compared to 8 percent of employees who are not overworked.”

Pretty scary, huh? Now, think: have I ever felt like that?

It’s hard to believe that, in this day and age, most haven’t felt at least a little down due to excessive hours.

Fortunately, Brandau goes on to offer numerous tips for managers to keep their employees in check. Are you practicing these tips?

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