Studies have shown that workload is one of the crucial factors influencing work behaviour (Ingusci, Signore, Giancaspro, Manuti, Molino, Russo & Cortese, 2021; Ingusci, Spagnoli, Zito, Colombo & Cortese, 2019). These studies revealed that if the workload at the workplace is high the level of job commitment might be low.
Excessive workload has negative effects on work behaviour. There are studies that revealed that giving employees too many responsibilities have the potential of adversely affecting job performance (Salisu et al., 2015; Havdal et al., 2021). The study of Ingusci et al., (2021) indicated that excessive workloads for workers at the workplace are likely to reduce efficiency of workers in terms of productivity, service delivery and job satisfaction.
This implies that high workload could bring about reduced efficiency, low productivity and unsatisfactory job performance. In the same vein, when workers are given too much work to accomplish negative work behaviour could result such as reducing productivity and poor job performance (Uche et al., 2017; Salisu et al., 2015; Havdal et al., 2021).
Specifically, the study of Salin and Notelaers (2020) revealed that workers who are exposed to excessive workload are likely to experience severe physical and psychological distress. This distress has adverse implications on work behaviour such as absenteeism and job performance. In this same line, the study of Ingusci et al., (2021) revealed that high workloads at the workplace leads to negative work behaviour and attitudes.
Workers who think that their organisations are giving them too much work beyond their capacity and outside agreed tasks to be accomplished without corresponding increase in rewards are more likely to display negative work attitudes and behaviours.
Some organisations employed few employees in order to maximise profit (Anasi, 2020; Ijie, Zhen & Korankye, 2021; Inegbedion, Inegbedion, Peter & Harry, 2020; Elaho & Odion, 2022). Workers that are given multi-tasks to complete beyond their physical and mental capacities are more likely to experience reduced job performance, low productivity, inefficiency and bad citizenship behaviour. It can be argued that excessive workloads at the workplace might lead to workplace deviant behaviour.
REFERENCES
- Anasi, S. N. (2020). Perceived influence of work relationship, workload and physical work environment on job satisfaction of librarians in South-West, Nigeria. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication. DOI: 10.1108/GKMC-11-2019-0135.
- Elaho, O. B., & Odion, A. S. (2022). The Impact of Work Environment on Employee Productivity: A Case Study of Business Centers in University of Benin Complex. Amity Journal of Management Research.
- Havdal, H. H., Fosse, E., Gebremariam, M. K., Lakerveld, J., Arah, O. A., Stronks, K., & Lien, N. (2021). Perceptions of the social and physical environment of adolescents’ dietary behaviour in neighbourhoods of different socioeconomic position. Appetite, 159, 105070.
- Ijie, E. H., Zhen, M., & Korankye, B. (2021). Exploring the impact of workload on employee innovative behavior in nigerian manufacturing sector: the role of psychological capital. International Journal of Advanced Engineering and Management Research, 6(1), 58-77.
- Inegbedion, H., Inegbedion, E., Peter, A., & Harry, L. (2020). Perception of workload balance and employee job satisfaction in work organisations. Heliyon, 6(1), e03160.
- Ingusci, E., Signore, F., Giancaspro, M. L., Manuti, A., Molino, M., Russo, V., & Cortese, C. G. (2021). Workload, techno overload, and behavioral stress during COVID-19 emergency: the role of job crafting in remote workers. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 1141.
- Ingusci, E., Spagnoli, P., Zito, M., Colombo, L., & Cortese, C. G. (2019). Seeking challenges, individual adaptability and career growth in the relationship between workload and contextual performance: A two-wave study. Sustainability, 11(2), 422.
- Salin, D., & Notelaers, G. (2020). Friend or foe? The impact of high‐performance work practices on workplace bullying. Human Resource Management Journal, 30(2), 312-326.
- Salisu, J. B., Chinyio, E., & Suresh, S. (2015). The impact of compensation on the job satisfaction of public sector construction workers of jigawa state of Nigeria. The Business & Management Review, 6(4), 282.
- Uche, I. I., George, O., & Abiola, W. (2017). Counterproductive work behaviors: a socio-demographic characteristic-based study among employees in the Nigerian maritime sector. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Economics and Business, 5(1), 117-138.
Dr. Olumide Ajayi (Ph. D) is a Specialist in the study of Workplace Deviant Behaviour.