The 7 consequences of work overload

These are the consequences of work overload on workers' health.

Work is necessary, there is no doubt about it. In addition to the fact that it provides us with the means to survive, it is an element that organizes our time and gives us a professional label that defines us.

However, if time is limited and working conditions are inadequate, our health will suffer in the long run. Both physically and mentally, working more than we should, damages us, making us unhappier and less productive.

That's why it is so important to be aware of the consequences of work overloadWe will see them below, as well as what can be done to avoid this phenomenon.

Main consequences of work overload on the worker's health

Work is a very important aspect of our lives, not only because of its economic retribution.

Employment is something that occupies a good part of our day to day, giving us a more or less stable schedule, which organizes our life and gives us a certain security of order and balance. However, on many occasions we end up working more than we should, sacrificing other aspects of our life and acquiring all kinds of problems on an emotional, psychological and physical level.

Both workers and their superiors try, either by their own desire or by legal obligation, to respect the maxim of 8 hours of work, 8 hours of leisure and 8 hours of sleep, but this, in practice, turns out to be very difficult to comply with. There are quite a few jobs that end up putting more workload on their workers than had been agreed, causing dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction.This leads to employee dissatisfaction.

Working more than you want to work makes you less productive in the long run. If we are investing all our resources, both physical and cognitive, for a prolonged period of time, it is to be expected that sooner or later we will end up working worse than we usually do under normal conditions. This adds even more stress to the worker, who fears for his job and the continuity of his income.

Work overload is something that everyone experiences differently.. Some people work better under pressure, managing well the fact that their boss has given them more work than usual. Others, on the other hand, feel more quickly overwhelmed, working less well.

In any case, work overload is understood to mean the consequence of excessive, disproportionate and constant assignment of additional functions to the employee.. The worker does not feel stimulated, performing work of poorer quality and seeing his health affected.

Main consequences

The following are the main consequences of work overload.

1. Anxiety

If the job exhausts and exhausts the worker, it is not surprising that, in the long run, the worker himself ends up suffer from anxiety problems.

Working more than necessary, having to work overtime, meeting deadlines for deliveries or combining daily tasks with those that appear at the last minute generate stress, which causes the body to prepare for stressful situations and affects both physical and mental health.

People who suffer from constant anxiety are more vulnerable to suffer from problems such as diabetes, obesity, Heart and digestive problems.. They tend to eat more, smoke or engage in more risky and dysfunctional behaviors.

2. Depression

Depression is one of the most serious consequences of work overload, along with anxiety. Being depressed does not necessarily mean constantly crying or feeling sad. or giving the feeling of being sad. It also implies irritability, apathy and great demotivation.

The excess of work frustrates us, it makes us feel that we could be dedicating it in something that we liked. But, when we get home, we do not feel like spending time on what we like, such as activities beneficial to our health like sports, reading, walking, spending time with our loved ones or relaxing.

This causes us to become even more frustrated, entering into a continuous state of irritability and dissatisfaction, worsening the situation. and dissatisfaction, worsening feelings of deep sadness as we see how our job is consuming us.

3. Burnout syndrome

Related to stress and depression we have the case of the famous Burnout syndrome, a problem caused by burnout at work. This syndrome has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and involves emotional, psychological and physical problems. involves emotional, psychological and physical problems..

An important part of workers suffer from this health condition, living in a constant state of stress and anxiety together with depressive symptoms. Its prevalence in the population is increasing, so health organizations and companies are more and more involved in avoiding it in the workplace.

4. Sleeping problems

It is quite common for people who have to work more than usual to stay up until the wee hours of the morning working. This disrupts circadian cycles, causing serious sleep problems in the long run..

Even when the worker is able to sleep, he has trouble falling asleep. He cannot because, while in bed, he thinks about everything he has left for the next day, or he wonders if his boss is going to surprise him with more work.

This means that, in addition to taking his time to sleep, his sleep is not repaired and, consequently, the next day, he does not sleep well. and, as a consequence, the next day you are even more exhausted, not being able to perform adequately at work.

5. Muscle aches and pains

Although each job is different, in all of them our musculoskeletal system suffers.. We are more prone to muscle aches and injuries.

In those professions where you have to perform various physical efforts, if you spend too much time doing them, the joints end up suffering, in addition to running the risk of wearing out the cartilage and causing injuries, such as lumbago, sprains and strains.

In the case of office work, where it is common to spend hours sitting in front of a computer, it is quite common to feel pain in the back, it is quite common to feel pain in the back.. In fact, sitting for more than 20 minutes in the same position, especially with the back bent, can cause muscle damage.

6. Deterioration of social relations

There is no doubt that working more than we should implies seeing less of our friends and family.. The more time we spend at work, the less we can dedicate to our loved ones, causing relationships to cool down.

But this is not the only reason why relationships deteriorate. They are also affected because, when we get home, we don't feel like talking to our family or meeting our friends. We prefer to stay in bed or rest in any other way in which we do not have to interact with other people.

7. Bad work dynamics

In addition to all these consequences on health, it is to be expected that in the office, because of the great pressure on their workers, they begin to have relational problems among them.

Irritability, depression, anxiety and frustration will make workers not want to see each other, since they associate your presence with all kinds of negative feelings. All of this will cause simple misunderstandings to turn into all kinds of conflicts.This will lead to a decrease in productivity in the company.

How to avoid it?

To avoid work overload and its negative consequences, the company and its employees must take measures so that work does not become something that consumes them. In addition to trying to respect the schedules stipulated in the contracts, a good corporate culture should be encouraged, especially in relation to the organization andThe company, in the event that there is any work to be done later that will have to be done overtime, should try to promote a good corporate culture, especially in terms of organization and order, so as to prevent workers from leaving work for later that they will have to do in overtime.

The company, in the event that it has seen that the work overload has occurred, must identify the causes for this phenomenon. Once identified, it should mobilize resources to ensure that it does not happen again, or design protocols to manage its occurrence and avoid its detrimental effects on both the collective productivity of the organization and the health of workers.

One of the problems in companies that contributes to work overload is to set long and important deadlines for setting long deadlines for the delivery of large and important jobs, causing their workers to become overconfident and procrastinate.This causes workers to become overconfident, leave it to the end and, as the deadline approaches, work for hours at a time, at the expense of their health. A very good way to avoid this phenomenon is to break down tasks into small objectives, more achievable in the short term and that can be easily accomplished on a daily basis.

A fundamental tool in any company should be teamwork.The teamwork approach, especially in its intention to prevent work overload, should be a fundamental tool in every company. Instead of putting all the weight on one person, putting it on a team of several workers prevents them from getting burned out and coordinates them better. Basically, it consists of delegating functions, making the responsibility fall on several people instead of all in one, being less burdensome to achieve the goals.

Bibliographical references:

• Gil-Monte, P. R., García-Juesas, J. A., & Hernández, M. C. (2008). Influence of work overload and self-efficacy on burnout syndrome in nursing professionals: a study in nursing professionals. Interamerican Journal of Psychology, 42(1), 113-118.