Overload: How Good Jobs Went Bad and What We Can Do about It

Overload by Erin Kelly and Phyllis Moen highlights the negative effects of too much work and too little time on workers and companies, offering a proven workplace redesign that can benefit employees and the bottom line. The book documents how this intensification of work creates chronic stress, leading to burnout, attrition, and underperformance. Through a major experiment at a Fortune 500 firm, the authors demonstrate how creative and practical work redesigns can improve employees' health, well-being, and ability to manage their personal and work lives, while also benefiting the company's job satisfaction and lower turnover.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 344 pages
Publication date: 05 October 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press

The modern workplace is failing to meet the needs of workers, despite the presence of good jobs. In response to global competition and financial market pressures, companies are demanding more from their employees with fewer resources, leading to chronic stress, burnout, attrition, and underperformance. Flexible work policies and corporate lip service to work-life balance fail to address the underlying issue. However, Overload, by Erin Kelly and Phyllis Moen, presents a solution.

Through five years of research, including hundreds of interviews with employees and managers, Kelly and Moen showcase the story of a significant experiment conducted at a Fortune 500 firm. The company implemented creative and practical work redesigns that gave workers greater control over their work environment and encouraged managers to evaluate performance in new ways. The results were remarkable, with employees experiencing improved health, well-being, and ability to manage their personal and work lives. The company also benefited from higher job satisfaction and lower turnover.

Kelly and Moen argue that such workplace redesigns can and should be implemented on a broader scale. They provide advice to employees, managers, and corporate leaders on how to question and address the root causes of workplace problems. Overload is an inspiring account that demonstrates how rethinking and redesigning work can transform individuals' lives and companies. It serves as a call to action for a more sustainable and fulfilling workplace.

Weight: 314g
Dimension: 205 x 138 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691227085