by Ryan Baker, Desktop Engineer, IT Services
“Bill is leaving the college next week, you’ll need to pick up some of his duties once he’s gone.” Sadly, this sentence seems to echo all too familiarly for many UUP members, and heralds the onset of the very real and present danger of workload creep. Workload creep, defi ned as tasks that are not listed in your Performance Program being added to your normal workload without the corresponding removal of pre-existing tasks to make room for the new duties, is a serious infringement on your rights as a union member. Given that the duties listed in your Performance Program are supposed to encompass 100% of your professional obligation, adding supernumerary tasks to your workload would cause your professional obligation to exceed 100%, making completing all of your tasks in one workday essentially impossible. This causes workers to work longer hours, skip meal breaks, or push themselves harder to meet these obligations. As the process continues unabated, workers are being pushed harder and harder with no accompanying increase in compensation, essentially doing more and more each day for less and less. Left unchecked, workload creep threatens the long-term physical and mental health of UUP members and places a thumb on the scale of our work-life balance, increasing the likelihood of worker frustration, anxiety, burnout and depression. Sadly, this
runaway chain reaction is negatively impacting the lives of too many UUP members.
An old adage states that “today’s compromise is tomorrow’s expectation.” As such, if you accept the extra work being assigned to you, that additional workload will be expected of you tomorrow. Over time, this additional workload can eventually be considered “past practice”, at which point, it is expected to be a part of your daily work output. Therefore, when asked to take on tasks that are not a part of your erformance Program, you need to discuss with your manager what tasks are being removed from your Performance Program to make room in your workday for your new duties, or what additional monetary compensation may be available.
It is important to note that workload creep can come about not just as a result of management putting pressure on subordinates, but also as the result of enthusiastic workers’ “can-do” spirit and well-meaning good intentions. Workload creep is a collective problem that needs to be monitored, documented and addressed cooperatively at all levels to protect everyone’s work experience and well-being. If any UUP members have questions or concerns about workload creep, our Department Reps are always available either to provide answers or to reach out to other UUP representatives on your behalf. UUP’s Vice Presidents for both Professionals and Academics have written two “Fast Facts” handouts (professional and academics) about how to address workload creep.