WiserHours
Menu

Follow your curiosity

Recover and change · Lesson 10 of 12

Talk to Your Manager About Workload Without Confessing

Learn a calm, five-step way to raise too much work with your manager: list hours, show trade-offs, ask for a ranking and confirm by email.

FREE LESSON
Cover picture for lesson 10: Talk to Your Manager About Workload Without ConfessingVideo coming soon
The video is not out yet. The written lesson below has the same content.
THE WRITTEN LESSONFollow along at your pace

Too much work is hard to raise with a manager, and it is also one of the things most linked to burnout. In this lesson you learn a calm way to talk to your manager about workload, so the talk leads to real changes.

Information, not confession

Managers often hand out work without knowing how long it takes. So when you raise your workload, you are giving them information, not confessing that you cannot cope. This matters because an unmanageable workload is one of the things most linked to burnout, so it is worth a conversation.

A manager with a thought bubble reading How long does this take? faces an employee holding a list titled Information, with Reports 8 h, Meetings 6 h and Requests 4 h. A red crossed label reads Confession, and a note says Unmanageable workload is linked to burnout.(opens the full-size picture)
You are answering a question your manager may not have asked yet.

List your tasks and hours

First, list your tasks and roughly how many hours each takes, based on the last two weeks. Include meetings and small requests, since those often hide the most time. Hours are more convincing than adjectives. “I’m so busy” invites reassurance. “The client reports take about a day a week” invites a decision.

A table of tasks and hours a week: Client reports 8 h, Meetings 6 h and Small requests 4 h. Beside it, I'm so busy is crossed out in red and About a day a week is ticked in green, with a clock. A note says Include meetings and small requests.(opens the full-size picture)
Hours show the load. Adjectives only describe a feeling.

Show the trade-off, then ask for a ranking

Next, show what each new request would push aside. For example: “I can take on the supplier review, but then the training materials move to next month.” That is neither a yes nor a no. It is an honest price.

Then ask your manager to rank the work: which of these matters most this month? A ranking turns a complaint into a decision that your manager is already responsible for.

A tipping scale with a new card, plus Supplier review. Training materials slides to a calendar marked Next month. A ranked list under Which matters most this month? reads 1 Client reports, 2 Supplier review, 3 Training materials.(opens the full-size picture)
Show what moves, then ask which work comes first.

Bring options

For every task that does not fit, bring options: drop it, delay it, hand it to someone else, or get temporary help. A monthly report might become quarterly, for example. Options show you are working on the problem with your manager, not just handing it over.

Four cards labeled Drop with a bin, Delay with a clock, Hand over with two people, and Get help with two people. A calendar card reads Quarterly report, with the note Monthly report becomes quarterly.(opens the full-size picture)
Drop, delay, hand over or get help.

Words that work

Choose your words with care. Try: “I want this project to land well, so I need your help with priorities.” Avoid “I’m drowning”, or “other people have far less to do”. You do not need your manager to agree that you are overloaded. You need them to say which work comes first.

A green Try card with a ticked speech bubble reads I want this project to land well, so I need your help with priorities. Two red Avoid cards read I'm drowning and Others have less. A note says Ask which work comes first.(opens the full-size picture)
Ask for priorities, not for agreement that you are overloaded.

Confirm by email

Finally, confirm the plan by email the same day: what stays top priority, what moves, who takes what, and when you will check in. Keep it short and friendly. If nothing changes after you have raised it clearly, that tells you something too.

An email to my manager titled To confirm what we agreed, with four lines: Top priority client reports, Moving training to next month, Taking over Sam, supplier review, and Check in at our next one-to-one. An envelope and a calendar marked Check in sit beside it, with a note that no change tells you something too.(opens the full-size picture)
Four short lines: priority, what moves, who takes what, check-in.

YOUR TURN

Read more

Read the full lesson script

In this lesson, you'll learn how to talk to your manager about too much work, in a calm way that leads to real changes.

Here's a helpful way to see it. Managers often hand out work without knowing how long it takes. So when you raise your workload, you're giving them information, not confessing that you can't cope. An unmanageable workload is one of the things most linked to burnout.

First, list your tasks, and roughly how many hours each takes, based on the last two weeks. Include meetings and small requests. Hours are more convincing than adjectives: the client reports take about a day a week.

Next, show what each new request would push aside: I can take on the supplier review, but then the training materials move to next month. Then ask your manager to rank the work: which of these matters most this month?

For every task that doesn't fit, bring options: drop it, delay it, hand it to someone else, or get temporary help. A monthly report might become quarterly, for example.

Choose your words with care. Try: I want this project to land well, so I need your help with priorities. Avoid: I'm drowning, or other people have far less to do. You don't need your manager to agree you're overloaded. You need them to say which work comes first.

Finally, confirm the plan by email the same day: what stays top priority, what moves, who takes what, and when you'll check in. Keep it short and friendly. If nothing changes after you've raised it clearly, that tells you something too.

So remember: raising workload is giving information. List your tasks with hours, and ask your manager to rank them. And confirm the plan by email the same day. Before the next lesson, write your task list with rough hours for a normal week. Next, you'll learn how to reshape your job.