I just took a self-assessment test on work overload. And the result says that my work overload status is CRITICAL. The interpretation given was “if work overload cannot be substantially reduced within the next few months, immediately search for another position.” No wonder, I thought of resigning from my position several times.
Now, I am sure of it. I am overloaded with work. And thanks to the book titled WORK OVERLOAD! REDESIGNING JOBS TO MINIMIZE STRESS AND BURNOUT by Frank M. Gryna. The book, which I incidentally found at the NEW ACQUISITION section of the main library, made me realize the reasons for the stress I feel at work and how it can be minimized (take note of the word minimize because stress at work is really impossible to eliminate).
Gryna, the author of the book, emphasized that “we do not have to accept work overload as inevitable. You may call it a “challenge” or call it “an opportunity.” However, Gryna was also right in saying that “work overload is a problem and we need to take action.” The book is actually designed for upper and middle managers who should be designing the work activity that includes resources, work plans, organization of activities, match of job requirements and employee skills, and other factors. All these create a tension that makes work overload a problem in any organization.
In my case, I am not expecting the dean to evaluate my situation and take action based on her assessment. In fact, the dean never even visited me in my old and even in my new office. That means no one else could help me evaluate my own situation but myself.
Let me make self-assessment:
My job as a regular faculty is to handle 18 units – that is equivalent to six three-unit subjects in a week. I am handling English 2A, Comm 1, 7, 12a, and 8, and Print internship. Imagine, I have six preparations to make. That is very much unlike other faculty members’ load. Some only have one preparation or two or they are unlucky if they’ve got 3 preps. (I didn’t realize this until now. I was just teaching. I wasn’t aware that I’ve got 6 preps this sem )
As the program coordinator, I am in-charge of all matters concerning students – monitor student performance, do something about student behaviour, advise subjects to be taken, esp. for irregular students, interview student applicants, design and revise curriculum, distribute class cards at the end of the semester, take charge of enrollment, address all student problems, motivate student participation in academic and non-academic activities, recommend and evaluate MC-related materials to the library, distribute all sorts of papers and documents or any form of communication tools to all ABMC students. In short, I am also a “town crier” who should be able to make announcements to 160 students in an instant. Above all these is the unexpected “call” I get whenever ABMC students are needed to do or attend to whatever activity that is not even in the school calendar.
As SAMASKOM adviser, I have to ensure that activities will be carried out smoothly and properly. Activities must be organized so the organization will be recognized. Unfortunately, with or without activity, orgs here are difficult to be recognized by people who don’t care.
As adviser of the CAS Ideas, I have to make sure that at least one issue is published every academic year. That means I have to help the EIC edit, proofread, and finalize the paper before putting it to bed.
Aside from those jobs, I also have to do whatever the dean tells me to do although I sometimes think it should no longer be part of my job: sell play or film tickets to students (be it for a cause or not), go to public or private high schools around the area to market our degree program (the dean also participates here), call students who did not enroll the following semester to find out why, etc.
On top of everything, I have to accomplish and submit papers like the AMS, faculty profile, medical record, and a lot of unexpected papers needed to be accomplished on time. And failure to do so means getting a written warning. How many warnings have I got because of non-submission of AMS on time? I think two. And maybe I am about to get three warnings because I have been really busy the past weeks.
The list isn’t over: don’t forget preparing lessons, and learning materials, thinking of a new teaching strategy, making exams, checking papers, computing for the grades, writing grades on class cards (a total of almost 200 class cards have to be filled out) and submitting to respective colleges. Plus we are expected to come up with a research output and cooperate in community extension service. Then attend retreat that requires us to pay P1, 250.00. (Then when I informally complained about the amount, I was told that that’s cheaper than what we are supposed to pay because the college is going to pay a certain amount for each of us). Okay, fine. What else can I say?
Now, tell me, do you think I would still have time to sit on my chair, not doing or not thinking about any concern?
The truth is, whenever I am in school, I don’t want to waste even a single minute because every minute I spend at work is a minute spent away from my lovely kids and sweet baby. I want to make the most out of the time I spend away from my family. That is why you’ll never see me making chika to other teachers around. I say hi or hello but that’s it. No long stories to tell. In fact, I spend more time with my students -- I see them in classes, in the office, in the corridor, or even outside the school. We talk about their concerns, requests, complaints, fears, etc.
THE CAUSES OF MY BEING OVERLOADED WITH WORK:
Ø Lack of faculty at the Mass Communication department. There is no one else to do MC-related job but I. I get all “do-this-do-that” order from the top. What can I do? Who else can do it? None. What’s funny here is that it seems like I am also in-charge of looking for a person to hire for the MC dept. That shouldn’t be my job anymore.
Ø The presence of part-time faculty. Don’t get me wrong here. The part-time teachers are a big help. Without them, no one will teach in the department. But the fact that we have no other full-time faculty means more work for me. Why? The part-time faculties don’t know exactly what the protocols are in terms of a lot of things here in school. They see me for advice on what they are expected to do. I communicate with them if there are concerns in their classes. What’s worse, we’ve got part-time faculties who don’t do their teaching responsibilities so students come to my office to complain. Of course, I have to at least assure the students that something will be done about it, and it will surely eat a portion of my precious time in school.
Ø Unclear responsibilities. I don’t know how to draw the line between my job and the job of the department chair. I am supposed to be in-charge only of student concerns. But I don’t understand why part-time teachers come to see me instead of the chair. Then the chair thinks I should be involved because the students are the clients of teachers and the ones affected – in short, the concern of teachers is also the concern of students. Eh, paano naman ako? When one of the directors called me (he doesn’t know me, he called me “tao” when he was talking to another person on the phone: I remember him saying on the phone, “May isang tao kasi dito, sinasabi niya na…”) to ask about my job description, I found out that there is really a big confusion between the job of a chair and that of a coordinator.
Ø Inadequate selection and training of MC faculty. The effect of lack of teachers in the department is a teacher teaching what he was not trained to teach. I don’t know if it’s easy to get this point but it really adds up to my work load. Students come to see me to say that the teacher is not teaching properly because … well… you better ask the students. The sad thing is, the MC people here never had any in-house or school-initiated training. I personally get my trainings outside school and I look for opportunities for myself although the school, I admit, is generous enough to provide necessary expenses for my trainings.
Ø Firefighting. Generally, this means reacting to unforeseen matters like computer problems. In my case, firefighting problems occur when we have activities like a seminar-workshop that we organize then several unexpected matters happen – misunderstanding on speakers’ transportation, student-participants needed in other events, budget deficit, etc.
I am still hoping that these causes will soon be addressed. I hope the people on top could
help me solve these problems… Just keeping my fingers crossed…
Now, I am sure of it. I am overloaded with work. And thanks to the book titled WORK OVERLOAD! REDESIGNING JOBS TO MINIMIZE STRESS AND BURNOUT by Frank M. Gryna. The book, which I incidentally found at the NEW ACQUISITION section of the main library, made me realize the reasons for the stress I feel at work and how it can be minimized (take note of the word minimize because stress at work is really impossible to eliminate).
Gryna, the author of the book, emphasized that “we do not have to accept work overload as inevitable. You may call it a “challenge” or call it “an opportunity.” However, Gryna was also right in saying that “work overload is a problem and we need to take action.” The book is actually designed for upper and middle managers who should be designing the work activity that includes resources, work plans, organization of activities, match of job requirements and employee skills, and other factors. All these create a tension that makes work overload a problem in any organization.
In my case, I am not expecting the dean to evaluate my situation and take action based on her assessment. In fact, the dean never even visited me in my old and even in my new office. That means no one else could help me evaluate my own situation but myself.
Let me make self-assessment:
My job as a regular faculty is to handle 18 units – that is equivalent to six three-unit subjects in a week. I am handling English 2A, Comm 1, 7, 12a, and 8, and Print internship. Imagine, I have six preparations to make. That is very much unlike other faculty members’ load. Some only have one preparation or two or they are unlucky if they’ve got 3 preps. (I didn’t realize this until now. I was just teaching. I wasn’t aware that I’ve got 6 preps this sem )
As the program coordinator, I am in-charge of all matters concerning students – monitor student performance, do something about student behaviour, advise subjects to be taken, esp. for irregular students, interview student applicants, design and revise curriculum, distribute class cards at the end of the semester, take charge of enrollment, address all student problems, motivate student participation in academic and non-academic activities, recommend and evaluate MC-related materials to the library, distribute all sorts of papers and documents or any form of communication tools to all ABMC students. In short, I am also a “town crier” who should be able to make announcements to 160 students in an instant. Above all these is the unexpected “call” I get whenever ABMC students are needed to do or attend to whatever activity that is not even in the school calendar.
As SAMASKOM adviser, I have to ensure that activities will be carried out smoothly and properly. Activities must be organized so the organization will be recognized. Unfortunately, with or without activity, orgs here are difficult to be recognized by people who don’t care.
As adviser of the CAS Ideas, I have to make sure that at least one issue is published every academic year. That means I have to help the EIC edit, proofread, and finalize the paper before putting it to bed.
Aside from those jobs, I also have to do whatever the dean tells me to do although I sometimes think it should no longer be part of my job: sell play or film tickets to students (be it for a cause or not), go to public or private high schools around the area to market our degree program (the dean also participates here), call students who did not enroll the following semester to find out why, etc.
On top of everything, I have to accomplish and submit papers like the AMS, faculty profile, medical record, and a lot of unexpected papers needed to be accomplished on time. And failure to do so means getting a written warning. How many warnings have I got because of non-submission of AMS on time? I think two. And maybe I am about to get three warnings because I have been really busy the past weeks.
The list isn’t over: don’t forget preparing lessons, and learning materials, thinking of a new teaching strategy, making exams, checking papers, computing for the grades, writing grades on class cards (a total of almost 200 class cards have to be filled out) and submitting to respective colleges. Plus we are expected to come up with a research output and cooperate in community extension service. Then attend retreat that requires us to pay P1, 250.00. (Then when I informally complained about the amount, I was told that that’s cheaper than what we are supposed to pay because the college is going to pay a certain amount for each of us). Okay, fine. What else can I say?
Now, tell me, do you think I would still have time to sit on my chair, not doing or not thinking about any concern?
The truth is, whenever I am in school, I don’t want to waste even a single minute because every minute I spend at work is a minute spent away from my lovely kids and sweet baby. I want to make the most out of the time I spend away from my family. That is why you’ll never see me making chika to other teachers around. I say hi or hello but that’s it. No long stories to tell. In fact, I spend more time with my students -- I see them in classes, in the office, in the corridor, or even outside the school. We talk about their concerns, requests, complaints, fears, etc.
THE CAUSES OF MY BEING OVERLOADED WITH WORK:
Ø Lack of faculty at the Mass Communication department. There is no one else to do MC-related job but I. I get all “do-this-do-that” order from the top. What can I do? Who else can do it? None. What’s funny here is that it seems like I am also in-charge of looking for a person to hire for the MC dept. That shouldn’t be my job anymore.
Ø The presence of part-time faculty. Don’t get me wrong here. The part-time teachers are a big help. Without them, no one will teach in the department. But the fact that we have no other full-time faculty means more work for me. Why? The part-time faculties don’t know exactly what the protocols are in terms of a lot of things here in school. They see me for advice on what they are expected to do. I communicate with them if there are concerns in their classes. What’s worse, we’ve got part-time faculties who don’t do their teaching responsibilities so students come to my office to complain. Of course, I have to at least assure the students that something will be done about it, and it will surely eat a portion of my precious time in school.
Ø Unclear responsibilities. I don’t know how to draw the line between my job and the job of the department chair. I am supposed to be in-charge only of student concerns. But I don’t understand why part-time teachers come to see me instead of the chair. Then the chair thinks I should be involved because the students are the clients of teachers and the ones affected – in short, the concern of teachers is also the concern of students. Eh, paano naman ako? When one of the directors called me (he doesn’t know me, he called me “tao” when he was talking to another person on the phone: I remember him saying on the phone, “May isang tao kasi dito, sinasabi niya na…”) to ask about my job description, I found out that there is really a big confusion between the job of a chair and that of a coordinator.
Ø Inadequate selection and training of MC faculty. The effect of lack of teachers in the department is a teacher teaching what he was not trained to teach. I don’t know if it’s easy to get this point but it really adds up to my work load. Students come to see me to say that the teacher is not teaching properly because … well… you better ask the students. The sad thing is, the MC people here never had any in-house or school-initiated training. I personally get my trainings outside school and I look for opportunities for myself although the school, I admit, is generous enough to provide necessary expenses for my trainings.
Ø Firefighting. Generally, this means reacting to unforeseen matters like computer problems. In my case, firefighting problems occur when we have activities like a seminar-workshop that we organize then several unexpected matters happen – misunderstanding on speakers’ transportation, student-participants needed in other events, budget deficit, etc.
I am still hoping that these causes will soon be addressed. I hope the people on top could
help me solve these problems… Just keeping my fingers crossed…
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