Workload Management

Workload management is important because there is a unique relationship between job demands, intellectual demands and job satisfaction. Job demands reduce job satisfaction, while intellectual demands or decision-making latitude, increase job satisfaction. Even when there are high demands, if staff and faculty also have high decision-making ability, they will be able to thrive. Having high decision-making latitude also allows for positive coping behaviours to be learned and experienced.

Any system subject to excess load without reprieve will break. This is as true for people as it is for equipment. Increased demands, without opportunities for control, result in physical, psychological and emotional fatigue, and increase stress and strain. Emotionally fatigued individuals also have a diminished sense of personal accomplishment and an increased sense of inadequacy. Excessive workload is one of the main reasons staff and faculty are negative about their jobs and their employers.

• the amount of work staff and faculty are expected to do is reasonable for their positions;
• staff and faculty have the equipment and resources needed to do their jobs well;
• staff and faculty can talk to their managers about the amount of work they have to do;
• staff and faculty work is free from unnecessary interruptions and disruptions; 
• staff and faculty have an appropriate level of control over prioritizing tasks and responsibilities when facing multiple demands.

Changes occur in the workplace daily and managers are responsible for distributing the work equitably. Effective workload management is critical to supporting the psychological wellness of staff and faculty.

Disconnecting from work means not engaging in work-related communications, including emails, telephone calls, video calls or the sending or reviewing of other messages, so as to be free from the performance of work.

Review the new policy on disconnecting from work.