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Read the following case and respond to the questions.
You work on a team with a number of talented individuals from different departments in your organization. You are the team leader, and director of your department. You have a couple people on the team that you really appreciate because they do such a good job handling the issues that arise in their area, but you have noticed that one of those employees, Lindsey Tomas, has been having issues lately. While she still gets the job done, she does not have the same passion and drive that she did, nor the dedication to quality, or the willingness to speak up and offer new ideas. Instead she does what tasks she is given, offers little input, and just comes in with a dazed look on her face. After a month you confront her on what is going on with her.
Lindsey tells you that her boss has given her a number (think 5 or 6) of high profile and important tasks that she is to lead in her department in addition to the team on which you and she currently serve and her normal workload. From what she has told you, her workload exceeds that of what you give your assistant director, who regularly puts in 60 hour weeks. She also confesses that she is having issues with keeping up with her house and kids, as she regularly takes work home to get tasks done and has to forgo time with the kids or sleep (often both). You ask if her if her director has given her a pay raise or anything to help with the extra work she is doing. Lindsey says no as her boss said that his boss says the department does not have the budget to give any incentives like that and there are no current openings for her to be promoted into. Her boss has promised that when the next position opens up in a couple years he will advance her to an assistant director.
Lindsey confides in you that she is trying her best, but she is becoming apathetic from all that she has to do. Her tasks have to get done, but they don’t have to all be done to the utmost standard and so she is not putting the same effort into her tasks as she would have months ago.
You feel like the organization is suffering from the loss of Lindsey’s extra contributions and overall high level of performance. At the next quarterly meeting you speak with Lindsey’s director about her and why he has tasked her with so many projects. He responds that she is an excellent worker that he can trust to get the job done, and as he does not currently have many of those employees in his department he feels it is better to give such important tasks to those that will do the best job. Further, he thinks she has the potential to advance to an assistant director or beyond, and sees this as good training for her.
Questions
What can you say about the relationship between Lindsey and her director? Do you think he is a good manager/leader?
What is happening to Lindsey’s attitude? Using the various theoretical constructs we have read, explain what Lindsey is feeling, how that is currently contributing to her performance, and to what outcomes it could possibly lead to over time. Justify your explanation.
Now imagine that you were Lindsey’s boss and someone just came up and explained to you how your actions are affecting Lindsey and what they might lead to in the future. What do you do to fix the situation?
Submission Instructions:
Answer the questions in essay format.
Question 1: The relationship between Lindsey and her director appears to be one of trust and reliance. Her director trusts her to get the job done and is tasking her with high-profile projects that he believes she can handle, as well as training to help prepare her for a potential promotion. However, it seems that the workload is too much given how overwhelmed she feels.
Overall, while his intentions appear good, by not offering any incentives or providing assistance in managing her workload, it could be argued that this is a poor management decision on his part since it’s leading to decreased morale and performance from Lindsey.
Question 2: From an organizational behavior perspective, Lindsey may be feeling overwhelmed and overburdened due to her excessive workload which has led to decreased motivation levels (i.e., lack of passion or drive). This could also lead to increased stress levels due to trying to balance work with family life which results in reduced energy levels when doing tasks at work (i.e., apathy). Furthermore, this might cause an increase in negative emotions such as frustration or anger towards the organization for giving such unrealistic expectations resulting in decreased job satisfaction altogether. All of these factors have likely contributed both directly and indirectly (by affecting other areas) toward depleting Lindsey’s intrinsic motivation which has led to decreased performance quality overall – e.g., lack of initiative/input on tasks being handled without putting forth full effort into them. In the long run this could lead further reductions in employee engagement within the team if not addressed appropriately soon enough; potentially resulting in a decrease in productivity due diminishing commitment from all involved causing issues within the entire organization – particularly if left unchecked for any extended period of time beyond what has already occurred thus far with regards solely to Lindsey’s situation itself.
Question 3: If I were Lindsey’s boss I would do my best try my best rectify this situation by firstly understanding why she has so many tasks assigned at once – i..e whether there are any opportunities for streamlining processes or delegating some responsibilities elsewhere outside her department where possible instead – then finding ways through incentivization or otherwise whereby additional support either monetarily or time wise can be provided so as make managing everything more manageable within realistic boundaries still allowing room for growth & development when appropriate yet avoiding unnecessary pressure/accelerated timelines depending upon what feasible options exist based upon available resources etcetera at hand so that everybody concerned ultimately benefit accordingly herewith thereby helping all parties maintain positive relationships moving forward together into whatever new endeavors emerge thereafter hopefully ensuring everyone’s success going onwards accordingly every step along each respective journey theretofore encountered throughout such shared journeys alongside one another therein thenceforth etcetera!