[Have Hope]

I am having some trouble at work.

Currently, we are understaffed and I am being overworked. My plate is very full, and my boss is pushing me too hard, I feel, right now.

I had to tell him yesterday that a certain project needs more time and that I won't be able to comfortably hand it in by the end of this week, or else it will be crappy work. He wasn't happy about it.

It wasn't even due this week. I was the one who initially said I could have it done by Friday. My boss didn't set a deadline for me. He was just pushing me to get it done.

So what do you do when you're being pushed too hard at work? I am at a breaking point almost.

Originally Posted by Have Hope

I am having some trouble at work.


Currently, we are understaffed and I am being overworked. My plate is very full, and my boss is pushing me too hard, I feel, right now.


I had to tell him yesterday that a certain project needs more time and that I won't be able to comfortably hand it in by the end of this week, or else it will be crappy work. He wasn't happy about it.


It wasn't even due this week. I was the one who initially said I could have it done by Friday. My boss didn't set a deadline for me. He was just pushing me to get it done.


So what do you do when you're being pushed too hard at work? I am at a breaking point almost.

Well I’m having the same experience. It makes me feel anxious. I keep trying to assess what I will speak up about and what I will let go. There are some things that just won’t get done and they will have to come speak to me about it. When they do, I will revisit the topic of how I’m overworked at the moment. There are some things that are high priority and to cover myself I will speak up very directly about those issues. I hope this resolves for you soon. People keep telling me to stop getting everything done so that my work finally believes me that it’s too much. That is very hard to do.

[Have Hope]

Originally Posted by Sisabel

Well I’m having the same experience. It makes me feel anxious. I keep trying to assess what I will speak up about and what I will let go. There are some things that just won’t get done and they will have to come speak to me about it. When they do, I will revisit the topic of how I’m overworked at the moment. There are some things that are high priority and to cover myself I will speak up very directly about those issues. I hope this resolves for you soon. People keep telling me to stop getting everything done so that my work finally believes me that it’s too much. That is very hard to do.

Thank you, Sisabel! Hearing your story in fact helps me. I am overly anxious too. Very much so. I too need to think about what to speak up about and what to let go.

My boss told me one co-worker doesn’t have enough work. I think I will speak up about that since I have too much work.

I hope you can figure things out.. hang in there! You’re not alone.

[MickeyCheeky]

I completely agree with what Sisabel has already wisely said better than I ever could, Have Hope! Try to speak up about it if you can. I know it's not easyl But it's not fair that you must do all of this work if you can't handle it. I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out what to say to your boss! Hopefully he'll listen to you and understand you. Are there any superior figures to your boss that you can reach out to? Either way, I hope things will get better soon for you. You have every right to do the amount of work that you can handle and not feel too overworked! Especially if there are other co-workers that don't have enough job and that could fill some of your roles. Please don't give up. Try to hang on. I'm sure you'll be able to go through all of this. Just speak up if you can and keep trying your best like you're already doing. That's all you can do after all. Try to hang on. Remember that we're here for you if you need it. Feel free to PM me anytime. Let me know if I can do something to help you. Wish you good luck! Let us know how it goes. Sending many hugs to you, Have Hope

[Have Hope]

Originally Posted by MickeyCheeky

I completely agree with what Sisabel has already wisely said better than I ever could, Have Hope! Try to speak up about it if you can. I know it's not easyl But it's not fair that you must do all of this work if you can't handle it. I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out what to say to your boss! Hopefully he'll listen to you and understand you. Are there any superior figures to your boss that you can reach out to? Either way, I hope things will get better soon for you. You have every right to do the amount of work that you can handle and not feel too overworked! Especially if there are other co-workers that don't have enough job and that could fill some of your roles. Please don't give up. Try to hang on. I'm sure you'll be able to go through all of this. Just speak up if you can and keep trying your best like you're already doing. That's all you can do after all. Try to hang on. Remember that we're here for you if you need it. Feel free to PM me anytime. Let me know if I can do something to help you. Wish you good luck! Let us know how it goes. Sending many hugs to you, Have Hope

Thanks so much for the encouragement, MickeyCheeky!

Interestingly enough, my boss came to his senses today and told me he will lighten my workload! So I didn't even have to speak up. I feel like he read my mind or something yesterday. I wear my heart and emotions on my sleeve, and he could tell I was completely stressed out.

So, I guess it's basically resolved, I hope!

[redCanine3669]

the boss should at least pay you more for the extra work or hire more employees. sorry to hear you're going through this overload.

[Have Hope]

Originally Posted by redCanine3669

the boss should at least pay you more for the extra work or hire more employees. sorry to hear you're going through this overload.

Thank you redCanine3669! Funny, I was just thinking the same thing on Friday. I was like, I should be paid far more for all this stress!

[healingme4me]

Originally Posted by Sisabel

Well I’m having the same experience. It makes me feel anxious. I keep trying to assess what I will speak up about and what I will let go. There are some things that just won’t get done and they will have to come speak to me about it. When they do, I will revisit the topic of how I’m overworked at the moment. There are some things that are high priority and to cover myself I will speak up very directly about those issues. I hope this resolves for you soon. People keep telling me to stop getting everything done so that my work finally believes me that it’s too much. That is very hard to do.

Plus, when you do that, after they get used to your superhero completions of everything, it backfires for a moment because suddenly what's wrong with you and not the system. I am speaking from personal experience on this sentence.
It's like push back when boundaries are being established/reestablished in personal relationships. But I assure you, the pain of the critique far outweighs the anxiety and stress of trying to be everything to everyone in the workplace once the dust settles and it's realized it's not you it's the totality of the system.

I think in being overworked, and there not enough hours in the day types of positions of employment, time management and prioritizing are the best lines of defense.

It's safer to say, here's my task list and these are where I'm prioritizing...I'm open to suggestions if you have any. As opposed to saying 'can't do'.

[healingme4me]

One thing that I do, at my job is I print out a monthly calendar and keep the months all together on a clipboard and fill in each day that I'm pulled off my daily tasks and where and why. I also keep a notebook under the clipboard for long term goals/notes and I have a stack of scrap paper for daily tasks that I cross off and toss.
I utilize emails with updates when necessary. The calendar visually shows how and why any backlogs occur.

It works for me, maybe something similar could work for you?

[Have Hope]

Originally Posted by healingme4me

It's safer to say, here's my task list and these are where I'm prioritizing...I'm open to suggestions if you have any. As opposed to saying 'can't do'.

I know or think this was meant for Sisabel, but that's a great suggestion. I kind of used the "I can't do" instead, though I also said it's because I don't want to hand in crappy work and needed more time on my project.

"It wasn't even due this week. I was the one who initially said I could have it done by Friday. My boss didn't set a deadline for me. He was just pushing me to get it done. "

part of the issue here is the part that YOU set the deadline, not the boss. you added on to the stress level. I think that it is on you to learn to better assess the needs of the company and the amount of time work goals take. it's nice to say things can get done early. everyone wants to impress the boss but not if you set unrealistic goals. that's extra stress you dumped on yourself. yes, boss wants project done. that is his role. telling you to get it done is his role and yours. you told him Friday and so then you had pushed yourself into a space that was difficult.

[Have Hope]

Originally Posted by resurgam

"It wasn't even due this week. I was the one who initially said I could have it done by Friday. My boss didn't set a deadline for me. He was just pushing me to get it done. "

part of the issue here is the part that YOU set the deadline, not the boss. you added on to the stress level. I think that it is on you to learn to better assess the needs of the company and the amount of time work goals take. it's nice to say things can get done early. everyone wants to impress the boss but not if you set unrealistic goals. that's extra stress you dumped on yourself. yes, boss wants project done. that is his role. telling you to get it done is his role and yours. you told him Friday and so then you had pushed yourself into a space that was difficult.

Perhaps so and you make a good point, but he came back to me the next day and said he put too much on my plate. I was simply trying to do the best job I could and get my work done. What's wrong with that? Nothing. And the truth is, he was pushing me too hard and I do have too much on my plate.

just saying that part of the issue was what you posted yourself. it is easy to over extend yourself in order to meet and please a boss. just have to recognize it as part of a factor...the blame doesn't always fall on the company or the boss. you mentioned it so I did ..regardless of how big your plate was.

[Medusax]

Well..............when I was pushed to the breaking point.........I, ummmm...........broke. It was not the best way to handle it, but that is what happened. I stormed off the floor "Eff this hell hole, done with this ****, etc, etc. Real tirade. It is one of the days they still talk about. I screamed and yelled at the HR director for about 5 minutes about how awful and unfair the place was. And it WAS. I merely voiced what everyone else was thinking. Well, I wound up getting the day off, and they talked me out of quitting.
I don't recommend doing this, however. But I had had it and was at a "take-this-job-and-shove-it point, as we all were.

[Have Hope]

Originally Posted by resurgam

just saying that part of the issue was what you posted yourself. it is easy to over extend yourself in order to meet and please a boss. just have to recognize it as part of a factor...the blame doesn't always fall on the company or the boss. you mentioned it so I did ..regardless of how big your plate was.

Yes, I was trying to please my boss and overextended myself.

Where I felt pushed was when I told him I wasn't comfortable handing in this one project by Friday because I needed more time on it, and then he pushed me to try to get it done. And he pushed hard... that's when I posted this thread. I was overly stressed and he seemed unhappy with me.

I had to explain to him that it really needed more time and that I didn't have the time it truly needs that week. I had miscalculated the effort.

I am glad that he took a second look at it and came back to me the next day with a completely different outlook on the whole situation. He told me he would take some things off my plate.

[Have Hope]

Originally Posted by Medusax

Well..............when I was pushed to the breaking point.........I, ummmm...........broke. It was not the best way to handle it, but that is what happened. I stormed off the floor "Eff this hell hole, done with this ****, etc, etc. Real tirade. It is one of the days they still talk about. I screamed and yelled at the HR director for about 5 minutes about how awful and unfair the place was. And it WAS. I merely voiced what everyone else was thinking. Well, I wound up getting the day off, and they talked me out of quitting.
I don't recommend doing this, however. But I had had it and was at a "take-this-job-and-shove-it point, as we all were.

Yeah, I've been in that situation myself. I have walked out the door on a couple jobs years and years ago when I felt pushed to the edge. When it gets that bad, you know something has to change. I am glad it worked out well for you!