Everyone is willing to work extra when it's "crunch time." The project is due, the deadline looms, a problem arises: there will always be times that require everyone to pitch in and get things done. Back in the day, the owner of the factory would speed the assembly line up, forcing everyone to work harder to "get that big order in."

The Great Speedup. It happens, but it should be for "crunch time" only and not the new normal. There are a number of ways in which companies add to the workload. At CUNA Mutual Group, layoffs, outsourcing, and refusals to replace workers that have retired or transferred have added to work loads.The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) has initiated an outright "hiring freeze," leaving all open positions unfilled.

The worker is gone, but the work doesn't go away.

The work begins to spill over into evenings and weekends. On-call times come more often and time off happens less (and is more likely to be interrupted by work). This is happening across the country. The US is near the bottom of the list of industrialized nations in time off given, time off taken, and worker salaries even as the US leads the world in worker productivity (economic output per hour worked).

The recession officially ended in 2009. Most US companies have rebounded well. According to Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery at Mother Jones: "US productivity increased twice as fast in 2009 as it had in 2008, and twice as fast again in 2010: workforce down, output up, and voilá! No wonder corporate profits are up 22 percent since 2007, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute. To repeat: Up. Twenty-two. Percent." (emphasis in original) 

What can we do? None of us wants to be the slacker in our departments. We pride ourselves on working hard, putting in an honest day's work. As well we should. But working until we drop dead isn't going to help us or our families.

Ultimately, it won't help our companies either.

Every one of our companies put themselves forward as proud members of the communities in which they do business. Being a place where workers are harried, short of sleep, ill-tempered, and nasty to work with will damage the "brand" and may limit the ability of the company to compete. 

Management makes hiring decisions and the Union can't stop them if they want to keep staffing at unsustainable levels. At the same time, it isn't the job of the workers to cover for bad management decisions. Sure, we're all willing to push hard in the short term, but month after month is unfair, unjust, and short-sighted. When that project is over or that deadline is met, then it is time to bring back the 40-hour workweek: a level that is sustainable, that is honest, and that provides a work/life balance that lets us do our best work for the employer. Don't forget, our Union is funded through member dues. This pressure on each of us to do more with less is repeated at the level of the Union where every job unfilled weakens our ability to help workers in the future.  

Here are some quick ideas to help management set proper staffing levels:

• Don't regularly work through lunches or breaks. Once in awhile, of course. But being always available at our desks, even if we're trying to eat, puts additional stress on us and is likely to result in less output rather than more.
• Take all earned time off. Studies show that people are more productive when they've had time away from work. Our Union won those vacation days through hard
  bargaining because they're good for both the business and the worker. And if at all possible, don't check email when on vacation!  It's not really a vacation if we're still connected. 
• Talk to management. We need to tell our managers when we're feeling overworked. Most of us don't multitask as well as we think we do. We should never refuse work or an assignment, but we need to be frank about what the new assignment will do to all the others we're already working on. Our managers should take responsibility for deciding what is at the top of the heap. 

Don't wait for the first missed deadline to have this conversation! Be honest about what can be accomplished when. It isn't up to us to make bad management decisions work, certainly not at the expense of our mental or physical well-being.  

Some companies have instituted hiring freezes, others are facing rate freezes or are affected by other outside influences. Some may just be taking advantage of worker insecurity to push as hard as they can. But to be the best employees that we can be, we need to be realistic about what we can and can't do, and we need to resist the temptation to give our free time away for free. We help ourselves and our companies when we work with our managers to manage the workload. In the long run, that's being a good employee.