How work feels
Workload survey
Four questions. Good for a manager who suspects the team is stretched and wants more than a hunch before going to their own boss.
Opens this survey in Gists as a draft you can edit. Sign in with Slack, Google or your work email. 30 days free. No card needed.
Can you trust people's own estimates?
Reasonably. Spector and Jex combined 18 studies and found moderate agreement between three job-stressor scales, a workload scale among them, and other sources (Spector & Jex, 1998).
Workload does correlate with things you care about. A meta-analysis (overall k = 336) found corrected correlations of .44 with role conflict and work-to-family conflict, and a weaker .16 with intention to leave (Bowling et al., 2015). Role overload also went with lower performance, more strongly for managers than for non-managers (Gilboa et al., 2008). None of these show that workload caused the outcome.
When it has gone on for a while
If heavy load lasts more than a quarter, send the workplace stress survey to find out what is behind it. A monthly reading won't catch day-to-day spikes either, so don't expect it to.
The whole survey
Which best describes your current workload?
Pick one
- I have room for more
- About right
- Full, but sustainable
- Too much to keep up with
- Not sure
Do you expect your workload to increase next month?
Pick one
- Yes
- No
- Not sure
What is taking up more of your time than it should?
Pick any, optional
- Meetings
- Unplanned requests
- Admin and reporting
- Rework
- Covering for gaps on the team
- Waiting on others
- Something else
- Nothing stands out
Anything you would like to share about your workload?
Written answer, optional
We wrote these questions for this survey and they are not a validated scale. You can edit them once the survey opens in Gists. If you copy them into another tool, check what it records about who answered.
Comparing teams
Results show only when 5 or more people answer. A team below 5 rolls up into the team above it. A group is also held back when comparing it with another group could reveal a small team. HR and named leaders see every team with 5 or more answers. Each manager sees only their own team. Employees see no team scores. Themes only by default. Word-for-word answers are a company setting, off unless turned on, and employees see a notice before they write.
The decision it helps with
Do you need to move work, drop work, or ask for people?
Running it
Monthly during busy periods, or before planning a quarter. A monthly reading won't catch daily spikes. It's a short capacity read that shows you which team to go and talk to.
What the results might look like
These are made-up examples to show the patterns, not real data.
“Too much to keep up with” rising
from 10% to 35% over two months in one team.
- What it means
- Demand may be running ahead of capacity.
- What it doesn't mean
- It doesn't tell you whether to hire. Rework or unclear requests can cause the same result.
- What to do
- Move or drop something before the next deadline.
Rework or unplanned requests lead
“Rework” picked by half the team.
- What it means
- Time is going on things no one planned for.
- What it doesn't mean
- It doesn't mean the team needs more staff.
- What to do
- Look at where work comes in and how it's specified.
One team full, another with room
one team at “Too much”, a neighbouring team with room to spare.
- What it means
- Capacity is unevenly spread.
- What it doesn't mean
- It doesn't mean the work can simply move.
- What to do
- Check that the skills match before you shift anything.
What to tell people afterwards
Tell the team what you're going to stop or move.
What to measure next, and when
Next month's check, and the stress survey if heavy load lasts more than a quarter.
Related
Sources
- Spector, P. E., Jex, S. M. (1998). Development of four self-report measures of job stressors and strain: Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale, Organizational Constraints Scale, Quantitative Workload Inventory, and Physical Symptoms Inventory. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3, 356-367. doi:10.1037/1076-8998.3.4.356
- Bowling, N. A., Alarcon, G. M., Bragg, C. B., Hartman, M. J. (2015). A meta-analytic examination of the potential correlates and consequences of workload. Work & Stress, 29, 95-113. doi:10.1080/02678373.2015.1033037
- Gilboa, S., Shirom, A., Fried, Y., Cooper, C. (2008). A meta-analysis of work demand stressors and job performance: Examining main and moderating effects. Personnel Psychology, 61, 227-271. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.00113.x