What Overloaded Managers Can Do to Free Up Bandwidth

In recent years, manager expectations have grown exponentially. Most managers today operate under highly stressful, and often unsustainable, conditions, tackling complex challenges and handling overwhelming workloads. According to a Gartner report, the average manager has 51% more responsibilities than they can effectively manage. Regrettably, manager burnout has become highly common in workplaces. According to the Harvard Business Review, over 53% of managers report feeling burned out. 

Given managers' critical position in organizations, taking steps to empower them—for instance, strategically distributing tasks across teams, reducing dependency on managers, and re-assessing/reconfiguring expectations—may be viewed as an urgent priority.

This article discusses ways to address workload and time management for overloaded managers.

The Importance of Workload and Time Management

The overwhelming volume, pace, and sophistication of managers’ responsibilities make them more prone to overworking and burnout. Gartner research shows that nearly 75% of HR leaders feel that managers are overwhelmed and unsupported in their roles. The stress from tackling unrelenting workloads can drive managers' disengagement, affecting entire departments and teams they manage.

Managing their workload and time becomes paramount for managers to achieve deadlines and drive impactful outcomes.

• Time management refers to how effectively managers allocate their bandwidth (mental energy and capacity) to accomplish tasks. For instance, identifying and managing urgent vs. important tasks.

• Workload management refers to effectively planning, distributing, and managing work across a team, specifically in a way that prevents the risk of overwork and burnout and frees up a manager's time and bandwidth for high-impact activities.

3 Ways Managers Can Free Up Their Time to Prevent Burnout

Here are three ways managers can avoid being overloaded with a better workload and time management.

1. Delegating tasks to team members can free up time without affecting the impact

Many managers naturally excel at people management and task delegation, successfully building empowered, high-performing teams that positively influence business performance. However, some managers, particularly those with micromanaging tendencies, may possess limited talent for delegating due to their inability to relinquish control, which can affect company growth. 

According to Gallup, managers who are good at delegating generate 33% higher revenue. Delegating allows managers to focus on higher-value activities that drive business growth rather than get caught up in the day-to-day minutiae of management. At the same time, it can ensure their teams are engaged and empowered with greater autonomy over their work.

• Managers may invest time in identifying their team members’ individual strengths and positioning them to tackle tasks they're most capable of succeeding at. Doing so can serve as intrinsic motivation for employees, boosting overall morale and productivity.

• Managers may ensure their teams have the necessary resources and training to accomplish delegated tasks. This approach may create employee learning opportunities that help drive professional development and growth.

• Delegation must empower employees to generate new ideas and approaches. Managers may build trust with their teams and offer them ownership over their tasks rather than controlling processes and decision-making.

• Managers may clearly define expectations regarding timelines and deliverables to ensure the entire team is on the same page. They may judiciously track progress with a focus on outcomes without concerning themselves with how employees accomplish tasks. Providing feedback where applicable and appreciating contributions are key to aligning teams with project goals and building an atmosphere of recognition.

2. Reassessing the level of effort each task requires can prevent unnecessary bandwidth consumption

Managers may ensure that the amount of time and effort their teams dedicate to different tasks is proportionate and warranted. They may intentionally assess the requirements of individual tasks—whether high-value or low-impact—and appropriately allocate bandwidth and resources towards their accomplishment. This balanced approach towards time management is necessary to prevent over-delivery on less resource-intensive tasks, loss of bandwidth and time, and overwork-induced stress.

3. Reducing team dependency by scaling back availability can effectively de-load managers

Many managers exhaust their bandwidth and leadership capacity simply by being constantly available. They may be involved in more projects than ideal and engage in more interactions than necessary, leaving them overloaded and overworked. Further, teams may be overly dependent on managers, seeking support and direction at every turn. This can cumulatively slow down progress and affect an organization's output.

Managers may reduce their involvement wherever possible and empower their teams to take the lead.

• Project check-ins can be limited to a maximum of two times during the completion phase.

• Asynchronous communication may be encouraged to ensure minimal disruption to managers’ and employees’ work schedules.

Conclusion

Many managers today lack the support and empowerment from senior leadership. They may be understaffed and frequently forced to take on additional responsibilities, increasing their vulnerability to work-related stress and burnout. However, there are intentional steps managers can take to ensure better time management and prevent manager burnout. It necessitates allocating time, effort, and energy to tasks deliberately and strategically.