What is the workload?

One in two employees believe that their workload is greater than before the health crisis.

This is one of the results of the survey carried out by Opinionway for the firm Empreinte humaine: lHalf of the employees surveyed say that their workload has increased since Covid. Main reasons given: we are asking more and more of them, with fewer resources; much of their workload is not visible to their management; cross-functional projects take up more and more of their time.

franceinfo: When we talk about workload, what are we actually talking about?

Sarah Lemoine: We asked the question to Nathalie Gauvrit, project manager at the National Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions (Anact). And the answer is more complex than it seems. In the workload, there are three dimensions to distinguish. The prescribed load is what the employee must do. The real burden is what he actually does, in real life, with difficulties and unforeseen events. The subjective charge is the way he feels things.

However, since the health crisis, many things have changed or are accelerating. Hyperconnectivity with work is now almost permanent, whether mental or digital. It is reinforced by teleworking and hybrid organization. The flow of information continues to increase, with a demand for immediacy. There is more reporting, control processes, an increase in cross-functional projects. This weighs on employees.

Are businesses concerned?

Anact has noted an increase in calls over the past year and a half, on the notion of workload, this has become the second consultation theme. Companies are demanding training and tools to measure it and regulate it. It has become a priority subject to address, because of the impact on the quality of the work carried out, attractiveness, and of course the health of employees.

But there is no magic wand, emphasizes the National Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions. Workload is the result of the balance between prescribed work, actual work and experienced work.

To understand and act, companies must take the time to analyze these three dimensions and open spaces for discussion regularly. Not just once a year, at the time of the annual interview between the employee and the manager.