Role overload

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TERM PAPER – ROLE OVERLOAD Submitted by Rockey Verma (m1320) Shivam Mishra (m1324) ROLE OVERLOAD INTRODUCTION Role overload is a condition in which the individual is faced with a set of obligations, which require him or her to do more than he is able to cope with. Margolis et al. {1974} reported that job performance was be affected by overload conditions as it is associated with lowered confidence, decreased work motivation poor decision-making quality, deteriorating inter-personal relations and even accident rates. Lack of balance or reasonableness in the number or extent of expectations from a job- or position-holder is role overload. Roles represent sets of behaviours that are expected of employees. To understand how organizational roles develop, it is particularly informative to see the process through the eyes of a new employee. Starting with the first day on the job, a new employee is presented with considerable information designed to communicate the organization’s role expectations. Some of this information is presented formally through a written job description and regular communications with one’s supervisor. Hackman (1992), however, states that workers also receive a variety of informal communications (termed discretionary stimuli) designed to shape their organizational roles. For example, a junior school faculty member who is too vocal during a departmental meeting may receive looks of disapproval from more senior colleagues. Such looks are subtle, but communicate much about what is expected of a junior colleague. Ideally, the process of defining each employee’s role should proceed such that each employee is clear about his or her role. Unfortunately, this is often not the case and an employee experience a lack of role clarity or, as it is commonly called, role ambiguity. According to Breaugh and Colihan (1994), employees are often unclear about how to do their jobs, when certain tasks should be performed and the criteria by which their performance will be judged. In some cases, it is simply difficult to provide an employee with a crystal-clear picture of his or her role. For example, when a job is relatively new, it is still “evolving” within the organization. Furthermore, in many jobs the individual employee has tremendous flexibility regarding how to get the job done. This is particularly true of highly complex jobs. In many other cases, however, role ambiguity is simply due to poor communication between either supervisors or subordinates or among members of work groups. REASON FOR ROLE OVER LOAD Role overload can occur for a number of reasons. In some occupations, role overload is the norm. For example, physicians in training experience tremendous role overload, largely as preparation for the demands of medical practice. In other cases, it is due to temporary circumstances. For example, if someone leaves an organization, the roles of other employees may need to be temporarily expanded to make up for the missing worker’s absence. In other instances, organizations may not anticipate the demands of the roles they create, or the nature of an employee’s role may change over time. Finally, it is also possible that an employee may voluntarily take on too many role responsibilities.Role overload occurs when an individual experiences excessive role demands. Quantitative overload is when role expectations mean there is too much to do. Qualitative overload is when the individual does not have the experience or ability to carry out role demands. Having more than one demanding role at the same time, like parent and professional, or a job position with many weighty responsibilities, are frequently researched examples ( Marks, 1977 ). Role underload is the opposite condition in which the individual has very few role demands, or the demands are very easily accomplished. Underload may also be quantitative or qualitative. Both overload and underload are job stressors. They, in conjunction with other job stressors and the amount of control individuals feel they have over job demands, have been found to be predictive of stress related illness. Death from overwork (“karoshi”) in Japan or burnout is commonly used examples of the negative consequences of overload. The relationship of overload and underload to variables like absenteeism, job satisfaction, and accidents is inconsistent, probably being affected by other moderating variables. Time management techniques are used to deal with problems of quantitative overload. EFFECTS What are the consequences to workers in circumstances characterized by role ambiguity, role overload or role clarity? Years of research on role ambiguity has shown that it is a noxious state which is associated with negative psychological, physical and behavioural outcomes (Jackson and Schuler 1985). That is, workers who perceive role ambiguity in their jobs tend to be dissatisfied with their work, anxious, tense, report high numbers of somatic complaints, tend to be absent from work and may leave their jobs. The most common correlates of role overload tend to be physical and emotional exhaustion. In addition, epidemiological research has shown that overloaded individuals (as measured by work hours) may be at greater risk for coronary heart disease. In considering the effects of both role ambiguity and role overload, it must be kept in mind that most studies are cross-sectional (measuring role stressors and outcomes at one point in time) and have examined self-reported outcomes. Thus, inferences about causality must be somewhat tentative. Given the negative effects of role ambiguity and role overload, it is important for organizations to minimize, if not eliminate, these stressors. Since role ambiguity, in many cases, is due to poor communication, it is necessary to take steps to communicate role requirements more effectively. French and Bell (1990), in a book entitled Organization Development, describe interventions such as responsibility charting, role analysis and role negotiation. (For a recent example of the application of responsibility charting, see Schaubroeck et al. 1993). Each of these is designed to make employees’ role requirements explicit and well defined. In addition, these interventions allow employees input into the process of defining their roles. When role requirements are made explicit, it may also be revealed that role responsibilities are not equitably distributed among employees. Thus, the previously mentioned interventions may also prevent role overload. In addition, organizations should keep up to date regarding individuals’ role responsibilities by reviewing job descriptions and carrying out job analyses (Levine 1983). It may also help to encourage employees to be realistic about the number of role responsibilities they can handle. In some cases, employees who are under pressure to take on too much may need to be more assertive when negotiating role responsibilities. As a final comment, it must be remembered that role ambiguity and role overload are subjective states. Thus, efforts to reduce these stressors must consider individual differences. Some workers may in fact enjoy the challenge of these stressors. Others, however, may find them aversive. If this is the case, organizations have a moral, legal and financial interest in keeping these stressors at manageable levels. ROLE OVERLOAD VS. ROLE CONFLICT Features (Overload) Role overload occurs either when there are too many roles at one time for an individual or roles are changing and too many new roles develop at once. A young person coming into the work force must radically change her lifestyle. The roles of daughter and babysitter have ended, and now, new roles such as wife, mother and worker come to take their place. This transition can be the cause of role overload. On the other hand, those with too many roles, such as a single father that must be mother and father both as well as worker, also can suffer from role overload. Features (Conflict) Role conflict occurs when two roles overlap too much. Two roles might have contradictory expectations, causing strain. For example, when someone is both father and worker, things expected of him at home might have to be put on hold if work is demanding more of his time. If two co-workers are long-time friends and one is promoted to supervisor, the roles of boss and friend are now contradictory if he must discipline or even fire his former friend. Types These two types of role-related malfunction result from too much responsibility being placed on one person. In overload, too much is coming too fast. In conflict, the person feels she must “split herself in two” to do her jobs correctly. In both cases, the economy places too much of a burden on social life, leading to either too many roles or too little time. Function Role overload can lead to extreme stress or depression. This in turn can lead to failure at all of the roles expected of one person. Conflict can create tremendous personal strain and stress. Role conflict can give the sense that the person has no control over life, and that she is bring spread too thin. Considerations Fragmentation is the basic feeling of not being integral. One is expected to be more than one person. If a person needs to be a father, worker, boss, friend, football coach and the local handyman, it is not out of the question for that man to ask himself who he really is. Much in modern philosophy has taken up the question of integrity and modern fragmentation. When a person is so radically fragmented in roles, it appears natural that the person will begin to question his own identity, wondering what, if anything lies behind those roles. Questions of identity and alienation become normal in modern social theory as people continue to define themselves under the conditions of extreme fragmentation. Executive Summary Role overload is the condition of ambiguous responsibilities being assigned to a person and multiple expectations. For example, a man being a father, a husband, a manager, a team player and a sports team captain. Here, one single person is expected to be a good father with his managerial job expectation running parallel and also his duties towards his other positions too. Therefore, role overload results in dissatisfaction of jobs, stress pile up, reduction in efficiency, low productivity and deviant workplace environment. There has been misconceptions about role overload being considered as the mandatory responsibilities needed to be handled by a person in order to increase his/her knowledge in the area, enhance skillset, develop competency and increase the adaptability. In today’s scenario, role overload is persistent in the organizations and is seldom considered a regular fit activity of the firm. Some believe that role overload increases the learning curve of a person whereas some believe that it reduces the performance. Role overload is developed over the time in an organization. Sometimes it’s circumstantial whereas sometimes it’s intentional. At the time of economic recession in 2008, there were several job cuts in the market and people where wandering for jobs all over. In this tough times, those who were retained in the jobs were expected to manage different positions and responsibilities, equally well and should result fruitful. This working environment in many multinational organizations created role overload. It had a mixed outcome as a few job retained person performed impeccably and outshined their field whereas a few stuck in the vicious cycle of work load and dilapidated their performances. Hence, role overload at times is good for some people and has side effects too. Role overload leads to conflict when there is congestion in the work and expectations are sky high. Role overload hence is a vast area in terms of analysis and implementation and more often is a contemporary phenomenon with varying results.