Knowing your capacity at work and managing it can be a challenge. In today’s business world, with increased management pressure and the rise of contractors, guess who ends up having to bear a heavier load? Because it has very subtely crept up on us over the last few years, we tend to lose touch with what is acceptable and what isn’t. The lines have blurred, as our own expectations and those of our managers have grown. So identifying the limits of your capacity can be a tricky exercise, admitting them a whole new other.
Before I go any further, let’s make a special note about part-timers here. Those employees are typically more exposed to capacity issues, due to the hours of work they juggle. As a result, they feel obliged to double their output during working hours, or to stretch out their capacity outside of their paid hours to help others. My view is that part-time work equals part-time pay, equals part-time capacity. We all need to be realistic that part-timers will achieve less in volume and will get paid less. Note I didn’t talk about quality. The trap for part-timers is to over-inflate their capacity and getting negative ROI for their efforts. If need be, part-timers have to educate or remind their teams about their own capacity.
The big issue I see with women and work capacity is that there is a gap between our perceived or desired capacity vs. the actual capacity we’ve got. Like we have capacity distortion syndrome. As so many of us are wired to be strong achievers, or to say yes to people, we implicitely squeeze everything in. Or try to at least. We will disregard anything in the way to maximise our time, such as breaks or personal time. We plan sometimes in the deepest details so we harness that capacity and use every inch of it. In a nutshell, we often are capacity maximisers. We say yes, then we find ways to make it work. Am I right?
The problem with this situation is that we don’t know or ignore our limits. We keep pushing, sometimes without realising that we actually need to recharge or are no longer producing quality work. Or we do it because we feel like we need to keep face. Like it’s not OK to say we can’t and let anybody down. More often than not, it does not even enter our conscious mind. These are just habits we have taken on long ago, and that we don’t even question. The boss wants a report? An answer like ‘yes, of course’ is an example of that typical conditioning.
So what are the signs that you are at capacity? First, there are the obvious ones: we can’t afford taking breaks in your day, not to even mention holidays. You haven’t opened half of your e-mails. Meetings overlap frequently. You have no free gap in your diary for the next few weeks. Then, there are the more subtle signs: you have memory blanks, or small details fall through the cracks on a weekly basis. You get sick, but not quite enough to stop and stay home. You may have that hunch deep down that you’ve got too much on when asked to do one more thing. But then a wave of overwhelm takes over you before you can think straight and say something. So you are in constant ‘passive’ reaction mode.
Another sign that you are at capacity is that you have hit your personal boundaries. You may not be aware what they are for you, but trust me we all have them. Look at what’s upsetting you at work. When was the last time you felt mad when something asked you something? What happened? Did you have an anger outburst after doing e-mails late at night? When doing a last-minute presentation? These emotions are all pointers that you’ve reached your limit, and you need to decrease the load. So look at how you feel at work, and take note of where this is coming from.
So what if your capacity and what’s on your plate right now don’t align? In that scenario, you need to be OK with it first. Realise that this is not a reflection of poor performance. It’s actually a sign of self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Carrying on despite knowing we are over-capacity is a sure strategy to fail. Because we are human, and no matter how strongly we push ourselves, we will hit our limit – if that’s not already happening. You just can’t win at this game. I’m yet to see someone immune to overload.
So once you have reframed for yourself that it’s OK to admit our limits, you need to have a conversation with your boss. The best people managers out there will be very receptive and appreciate the feedback. The worse ones will do nothing, but at least you raised the point and should put it in writing after the discussion. Either way, always go to your boss with solutions together with capacity issues. Even if they are not the right ones. But you need to make the effort to also bring some suggestions to the table. That will also reflect positively on you, because you are considering the business objectives on top of your personal situation.
If you are regularly overworked and not breaking the cycle through management support, then it might be time to look elsewhere. Because the toll on your physical, mental and emotional health is not worth whatever loyalty bonus you might get there – if any. Just start treating work capacity like an objective, quantifiable fact exactly as you would with your tank of fuel. It’s there or it’s not. Every hour has the same 60 mins for each staff member, no matter their rank in the business. Take the emotional attachment to performance out of it, and manage it like a pro. You can do it!
