One managerial flaw that reinforces a “no win” scenario pertains to encouraging the people who always say “yes” when asked to go above and beyond.
Let’s be clear: this is not a criticism of those who contribute generously by doing more work. Rather, this is a warning about employees who automatically say yes to everything and eventually become choked.
Employees who fall into this category often underestimate how long various tasks take and as a result, they enter the spin of overwork and its accompanying stress.
Leaders are admittedly relieved by employees who rise to the occasion. But, realistically, a continual reliance on the same people may be inadvertently taking advantage of and burning them out.
An example of this happened to a young woman who worked for one of my clients. She always volunteered to do more, and eventually burnout set in.
Resentment followed the burnout, and her attitude shifted to negative. She felt her employer was taking advantage of her. She forgot her previous enthusiasm about going the extra mile and was embittered by her circumstances.
Her manager recommended a promotion and a raise (to prevent flight risk), but since her attitude had changed, instead of being welcomed, it was too little too late. She received the promotion and raise and hasn’t gone the extra mile since then.
When you have employees who continually say yes, make sure to intervene and slow down what is being piled on to these folks. And make sure their managers keep these situations in check. It will create a much healthier work environment, which in turn will contribute to greater engagement.
Header image by Mikael Blomkvist/Pexels.
