Your Manager Isn't Asking You to Work Harder. Here's What They Need.
TL;DR: In 8 minutes, you'll learn how to stop assuming every new request means "work harder" and start asking the three priority questions that turn overwhelming workloads into focused impact—so you create more value without burning out.
Here's what they probably actually mean: work differently.
Not more hours. Not superhuman effort. Different choices about where your time creates the most value.
The Game Development Team That Heard "More" When We Said "Different"
Years ago, I led process changes for game development teams. We wanted clearer expectations at each development stage and better communication about whether projects were on track.
The change was straightforward: show us rough draft animations by the midpoint milestone. That way we could give feedback early, iterate faster, and avoid spending weeks polishing work before knowing if we were building the right thing.
The team heard something completely different.
"You want the game done by midpoint? We're already buried. How are we supposed to add more checkpoints on top of everything else we're doing?"
They thought we were asking for more work. We were asking them to stop doing certain work. Stop polishing animations to final quality before getting feedback. Get rough drafts in front of stakeholders faster. Build to "good enough for feedback" instead of "final polish."
I tried to clarify. It didn't land.
They kept hearing "do more" when we were saying "do differently." The initiative failed because we never closed that gap.
What Research Shows About Workload and Performance
Employee perception of workload balance directly influences job satisfaction, productivity, and turnover. When workload exceeds capacity, employees experience burnout, dissatisfaction, and breakdown. But here's what most people miss: prioritizing tasks has a positive impact on employee performance, meaning the issue often isn't the amount of work but rather which work gets focus.
Planning and prioritizing reduce stress, job pressure, and psychosomatic symptoms. Employees trained in time management report higher job satisfaction and engage more effectively in planning. The difference isn't working more—it's working on what matters.
But there's a problem. Less than one third of employees are very satisfied with the quality and amount of internal communication they receive from their organizations. In one study, 70% of employees reported never discussing their career growth with their managers before leaving, and around 53% felt unrecognized for their contributions.
The communication gap creates the workload perception problem. When managers add work without clarifying priorities, employees assume they're expected to do everything. When employees don't ask clarifying questions, they work to standards nobody requested.
My Own Shift: From "Do It All" to "Do What Matters"
I spent years trying to get everything done. Every request that landed on my desk, every project, every task. I worked harder. I worked longer. I delivered exactly what was asked for.
My career was fine. Not great. Fine.
Then I made a shift. I stopped trying to do it all and started asking what actually mattered. What creates the most impact? What moves the needle? What happens if this doesn't get done?
I started saying no to some things. I started delivering what was needed instead of what was literally asked for. I stopped assuming I understood the priority and started asking clarifying questions.
That's when things changed. Faster promotions. More visibility. Better results with less grinding.
The difference wasn't working smarter in the productivity-hack sense. It was operating differently. Making different choices about where my time went.
Technical Visibility Strategies: What Your Manager Actually Needs
When your manager adds work or changes expectations, they're not asking you to work harder. They need you to make different choices about how you use your time.
Not more than eight hours. Not nights and weekends. Not superhuman productivity.
Employees need guidelines in the initial stage of prioritizing tasks, and time management is one of the best strategies to deal with prioritizing tasks effectively. But most people default to "get it all done." Your manager needs you to default to "get the right things done."
Engineering Manager Burnout Recovery: The Three Priority Questions
When your manager adds work or shifts priorities, ask three questions:
Question 1: What is most important right now?
Not what's urgent. Not what's loudest. What actually matters most to the business, the team, or the project?
Your manager may not spell this out. Ask directly. "Given everything on my plate, what should I prioritize?"
Employees who are better at setting clear work priorities are less likely to experience stress due to workload accumulation. The clarity reduces the stress, not the hours worked.
Question 2: If one of these things didn't get done, which would have the least impact?
This is the inverse of priority. What can you delay, delegate, or drop entirely?
Most people assume everything matters equally. It doesn't. Find out what matters least and stop doing it.
84% of workers indicated they would be more productive if they could structure their workday based on their work style preferences. Part of structuring effectively is knowing what NOT to do.
Question 3: Where am I making assumptions about what my manager expects?
You think you know what "done" looks like. You think you know what quality standard they want. You think you know the timeline.
Ask clarifying questions. "When you say you need this by Friday, does that mean rough draft or final polish?" "What does good enough look like for this project?"
Half the time, you're working to a higher standard than anyone asked for. Employees who are less trusted by their managers exert less effort and are less productive, but the reverse is also true—when communication is clear and expectations are explicit, employees can focus their effort effectively.
High-Achiever Overwhelm: What "Working Differently" Actually Looks Like
Here's what this looks like Monday morning.
Your manager just told you about new goals or added work to your plate. Do not assume you need to work harder. Do not assume you need to fit it all in.
Ask: "Given this new priority, what should I deprioritize or stop doing?"
Then ask: "What does good enough look like for this? What's the minimum viable version that creates value?"
You'll discover one of two things:
Discovery 1: Something on your plate actually doesn't matter as much as you thought. Drop it or delay it.
Discovery 2: Your manager didn't realize how full your plate already was. Now they do. They'll help you reprioritize.
Either way, you're not working harder. You're working differently.
Leading Without Authority: Making Better Choices With Your Time
The shift is not about doing more. It's about making different choices with the time you have.
Planning, goal-setting, prioritization, and task organization emerged as particularly beneficial strategies for enhancing productivity, well-being, and overall performance. But these strategies only work when you know what to prioritize—and that requires asking the questions that clarify what matters.
Stop trying to get it all done. Start asking what actually matters.
Your manager is not asking for superhuman effort. They're asking you to deliver the most value with the hours you already have.
That's a different question entirely.
The Monday Morning Action
Before your next one-on-one with your manager, write down three things:
- What you're currently working on
- What new requests or priorities have been added
- Which current work you're unsure still matters
Then ask: "Given these new priorities, what should I deprioritize or stop doing entirely?"
You'll get clarity. You'll reduce stress. You'll create more value without working more hours.
What assumptions are you making about your workload that you could clarify with your manager this week?
You're great at the work. Let's make you impossible to ignore.
If you're stuck trying to do it all instead of figuring out what matters, let's talk. I help technical and systems leaders get clear on where their time creates value and communicate it with confidence so they get the recognition and career growth they deserve.
Learn more: https://www.jessestaffordcoaching.com
Comments
Post a Comment