ASK HR: I love my job, but I am unable to cope with the workload

Q. My enthusiasm when I started working as a teacher of English at a private secondary school in one of the counties was up the moon. I was even made the languages departmental head. Over time however, the director of the school has consistently multiplied my workload until I have no time for my young family. While my salary has equally been increased, I am unable to put up with the pressure of this job. How do I deal with this?

It is commendable that your zeal for teaching paved the way to your promotion. Line managers often incline towards assigning more responsibilities to the individuals in their teams who appear driven to meet performance expectations, so this might in part explain your situation. It may seem odd, but great performers can often be haunted by a snowballing workload and its accompanying discomfort.

Workload that exceeds individuals’ coping ability brings about stress that can negatively affect their physiological and mental wellbeing, which would in turn undermine the very performance they hope to achieve and their quality of life in general.

Have you brought up the issue of your workload with your director during meetings or conversations about your work performance and career progress? Have you considered the opportunity to delegate some of your duties to others in your team? Have you been deliberately supporting others in your team to grow and take up greater responsibilities?

Do you consider time for yourself and your family a crucial part of your life? And do you plan for your personal time with the same rigour you apply to scheduling your work?

If you have not spoken to your director about it yet, seek an appropriate moment to raise the matter, indicating that you appreciate your career progress so far, setting out your family context and the pressure you find yourself under.

Consider suggesting solutions for discussion rather than simply voicing your pain and appearing to gripe. Have you thought about checking whether there are parts of your work that devour majority of your time and yet do not deliver proportionate returns?

Could you relegate such parts to the bottom of the pile or altogether prune them? Is there a chance to review the structure of your department to achieve greater efficiencies and assuage your pain?

While diligence at work is essential, devotion to your family should not have to play second fiddle to the attention you give the swelling demands of the workplace and other vagaries of your career pursuits. A lot more than work goes into the sum of your life.