Work Overload!

Frank M. Gryna

Description

The challenges of a globalized market, increasing customer demands, and changing technologies are making business more complicated and leaving employees feeling overwhelmed. Many feel that this work overload is an unfortunate side effect of success, and one that cannot be avoided. Work Overload: Redesigning Jobs to Minimize Stress and Burnout not only argues that this is entirely untrue, but sets forth a clear and easy to follow guideline for overcoming and then preventing work overload in any business. Renowned best-selling author Frank M. Gryna reasons that much of work overload is due to the waste and the inherent ineffectiveness found in most every position. Gryna maintains that overload is a failure in the design of the work, not the worker. To eliminate and ultimately prevent overload, we must find the areas of waste, eliminate them, and then use the resources that have been freed up to prevent overload from happening again. This is not a psychological book intended to motivate employees to love their job, handle stress, and be more productive. Rather it is intended to create a real system that is more effective and less overwhelming for the employees. Gryna also tackles the issue of getting buy-in from upper management, which is crucial for any successful organizational change.How Serious is the Work Overload Issue? Causes of Work Overload hy Study Waste in a Process. Redesign Work at the Process Level to Eliminate Work Overload. How Do the Mental Demands of Work Contribute to Work Overload. Redesign Work at the Job Level. How Do We Match Work to People, Participation and Empowerment of Employees to Reduce Work Overload, How Can Middle Managers Handle Work Overload in Daily Operations, Role of Upper Management in Work Overload, Work and Family Issues in Work Overload, What Do We Do Next?

Sujets

• Business
• Qualité, hygiène, sécurité, environnement
• Gestion d'équipe
• Economics
• Gestion et management
• Total Quality Management

Informations

• Publié par: ASQ Quality Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2003
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780873891721
• Langue: English

Extrait

Work Overload!

Redesigning Jobs to Minimize Stress and Burnout

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Work Overload!

Redesigning Jobs to Minimize Stress and Burnout

Frank M. Gryna

ASQ Quality Press Milwaukee, Wisconsin

American Society for Quality, Quality Press, Milwaukee 53203 © 2004 by Frank M. Gryna All rights reserved. Published 2004 Printed in the United States of America

12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gryna, Frank M. Work overload! : redesigning jobs to minimize stress and burnout / by Frank M. Gryna. p. cm. ISBN 0-87389-624-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Job stress. 2. Work and family. 3. Work—Psychological aspects. 4. Work—Physiological aspects. I. Title.

HF5548.85.G79 2004 158.7'2--dc22 2003028150 ISBN 0-87389-624-6 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Publisher: William A. Tony Acquisitions Editor: Annemieke Hytinen Project Editor: Paul O’Mara Production Administrator: Randall Benson Special Marketing Representative: Matt Meinholtz ASQ Mission: The American Society for Quality advances individual, organizational, and community excellence worldwide through learning, quality improvement, and knowledge exchange. Attention Bookstores, Wholesalers, Schools, and Corporations: ASQ Quality Press books, videotapes, audiotapes, and software are available at quantity discounts with bulk purchases for business, educational, or instructional use. For information, please contact ASQ Quality Press at 800-248-1946, or write to ASQ Quality Press, P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005. To place orders or to request a free copy of the ASQ Quality Press Publications Catalog, including ASQ membership information, call 800-248-1946. Visit our Web site at www.asq.org or http://qualitypress.asq.org.

Printed on acid-free paper

With love, I dedicate this book to my family: my wife, Dee, our daughter, Wendy Esslinger, and her husband; Perry, our son, Derek Gryna, and his wife, Barbara; our son Gary Gryna, and his wife, Dina; and the cavalcade of grandchildren: Jason, Sarah, and Elizabeth Esslinger; Wesley, William, and Whitney Gryna; and Emily and Samuel Gryna.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 1 How Serious Is the Work Overload Issue? . . . Who Suffers From Work Overload? . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Warning Signs of Work Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . To What Extent Is Work Overload Common? . . . . . . . What Are the Reasons for Work Overload? . . . . . . . . . How Do We React to Work Overload? . . . . . . . . . . . Work Overload – Self-Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewpoints of This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary – Three Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 2 What Are the Causes of Work Overload? . . . . The Ten Contributing Causes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Is Work Overload a Heavy Hitter to Job Satisfaction? . . . Summary – Three Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 3 Why Study Waste in a Process? . . . . . . . . . . Do We Change the Work or Change the Person? . . . . . All Work Is Done in a Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Are the Forms of Waste in a Process? . . . . . . . . . Who Will Do the Analyses to Eliminate Process Waste? . . How Can We Be Sure That Savings in Process Waste Will Help to Reduce Work Overload . . . . . . .

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Table of Contents

Analyzing for Waste in a Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reality – Staff Low, Add People, but Never Enough . . . Summary – Three Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 4 How Can We Redesign Work at the Process Level to Eliminate Work Overload? . . . . . . . . . . . . . Process Waste and Work Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . Redesign at the Process Level – Radical and Incremental Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Guidelines for Redesign of Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary – Three Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 5 How Do the Mental Demands of Work Contribute to Work Overload? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Long Hours + Excessive Mental Demands = Work Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mental Demands and Job Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mental Demands Caused by Job Content . . . . . . . . . . Mental Demands and Poor Management Practices . . . . Summary – Three Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 6 How Can We Redesign Work at the Job Level? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analysis of Job Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analysis for Mental Demands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analysis for Self-Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Checklist for Manufacturing Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . Checklist for Service Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Redesign for Work and Family Life – Case Examples . . . Summary – Three Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 7 How Do We Match Work to People? . . . . . . . Why Middle Managers Spend Most of Their Day on “People Problems” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Work Overload and Selection of Personnel . . . . . . . . . What to Do When Personnel Requisitions Cannot Be Filled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Work Overload and Training of Employees . . . . . . . . Work Overload and Retention of Key Employees . . . . . Summary – Three Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 8 How Do We Achieve Participation and Empowerment of Employees to Reduce Work Overload? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Table of Contents

Exciting Ideas for Organizing Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . One More Time – Participation and Empowerment . . . . Empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teams, Teams, Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Self-Managing Teams – Revolution in the Workplace . . . Yes, We Can Make Teams More Effective . . . . . . . . . . Summary – Three Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 9 How Can Middle Managers Handle Work Overload in Daily Operations? . . . . . . . . . . . . Who Are Middle Managers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Review of Causes of Work Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . How Middle Managers Can Use Teams to Reduce Work Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Where Do Middle Managers Spend Their Time? . . . . . Departmental Planning and Administration . . . . . . . . Firefighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Personnel Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Business Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who Are Individual Professional Contributors? . . . . . . Overload in the Personal Life of Middle Managers and Professional Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Care and Well-Being of Middle Managers – Lessons From Athletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Long Does It Take Stress Management to Work? . . Can’t We Act on Work Overload Tomorrow? . . . . . . . . Summary – Three Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 10 What Is the Role of Upper Management in Work Overload? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . My Perceptions About Upper Management . . . . . . . . How to Convince Upper Management That Work Overload Is a Serious Problem . . . . . . . . . . . Find Out the Extent of Work Overload . . . . . . . . . . . Analysis of the Overload Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Convincing Upper Management to Act on Work Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Issues for Upper Management to Consider on Work Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Developing a Strategy on Work Overload . . . . . . . . .

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