Dealing with manager who won't hire more people when we're overloaded [closed]

Question

I'm creating a new question relating to this other question, since I was asked to do so.

Before I leave my company, should I delete software I wrote during my free time?

So my manager keeps saying yes to everything because he's new to management position. We're even doing things that other teams are supposed to be doing. He's afraid to say no to upper management. He even comes in on weekends to catch up on work, but not us. The problem is that, he refuses to hire more people since we're a growing company, thus putting more work load on us.

How would I deal with this supervisor? I am looking for a new job.

Answer 1

It is not your problem that your manager wants to please their managers. They are suffering the consequences of coming into the office on the weekends, not you.

If it comes to a stage where you are overworked, then ask your manager to prioritise your workload:

Boss, I have projects X, Y and Z assigned. I can't work on all of them at once because of whatever reasons. Which one do you want me to focus on?

Regarding looking for a new role, that is your prerogative, but if you are leaving anyway then this really is no longer your issue, if it was in the first place.

Answer 2

One method is to push back on work. It's not easy:

"Sorry - I can't give you any delivery date for [x] as I'm working flat-out on [y]" or "No, it will not be ready for Friday, as [x] is taking priority"

Standard boss response: "It has to be!"

Next up is negotiation: "If you need that, which of these gets lower priority?". Push the decision back on them. They will probably be reluctant, so give them an out by suggesting they go to their bosses and ask for a priority.

Do you have any job planning software? If not, even just post-its on a board can work as long as it's very visible. Put time realistic estimations on the post-its, and arrange them to show when jobs are going to finish with big lines at week or month intervals, and as they add more everyone can see the effects, pushing the others down.

Lastly (as a nuclear option) consider mentioning that you are feeling very stressed because of being given too many jobs with no priority planning. Having a key member of staff signed off for two weeks from stress may motivate them to plan better.

Do be aware that this is relatively normal. You will always be pushed to do more, in less time and with less resources. You have to learn how deal with it.