The authors of the study, Feeling Overworked: When Work Becomes Too Much, are Ellen Galinsky, Stacy S. Kim, and James T. Bond. It was supported by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The authors define feeling overworked as "a psychological state that has the potential to affect attitudes, behavior, social relationships, and health both on and off the job."1They surveyed a representative sample of 1,003 adults (18 and over) from across the country. Those in the sample met two criteria. They had to:
- Work for pay
- Be employed by someone other than themselves in their main (or only job) for any number of hours per week.
Participants were asked how often, in the past three months, they felt overworked: very often, often, sometimes, rarely, or never. They were also asked how often, in the past three months, they felt overwhelmed by the work they had to do. Twenty eight percent felt overworked often or very often. Twenty eight percent felt overwhelmed by how much work they had to do often or very often. While less than a third of the participants felt overworked or overwhelmed most of the time, more than half of the participants felt overworked or overwhelmed some of the time. Fifty four percent felt overworked at least sometimes in the past three months and 55% felt overwhelmed at least sometimes.
The results of this study don't surprise me -- and if I can venture a guess, they don't surprise you either. You too may be feeling overworked, if not often, then sometimes. Knowing you aren't alone may offer some comfort. However, it may be more productive to discover the reasons behind the feelings. Knowing why you are feeling overworked may help you figure out how to become less so. In other words, the cause may offer clues to the cure.
1. Galinsky, E., Kim, S., and Bond, J. Feeling Overworked: When Work Becomes Too Much. Families and Work Institute, 2001.
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