What is multiple team membership?
The success of an organization is widely acknowledged to depend on effective teamwork. A team is made up of individuals who share a common purpose or set of goals and who work together to achieve those objectives in a supportive atmosphere.
Today, many employees work in several teams across the organization at the same time. This is called multiple team membership. When employees are involved in several teams and projects simultaneously, it can improve how well the organization and teams perform. This multitasking can lead to better work methods, improved time management, and the sharing of knowledge among team members. Positive engagement in taskwork and collaboration behaviours will characterize a well-performing team that hits its targets.
What does the research say?
A recent study shows that more than 80% of workers manage many projects at once. Working on numerous jobs at once has become a common practice in many Irish companies, with 59% of employees working on between two and five projects, 11% working on between six and ten projects, and 15% working on more than ten at once. It is frequently claimed that assigning personnel to various tasks will increase productivity. Multiple team membership works well and does increase productivity but only up to a certain point. At what cost to the health of the workers?
Negative factors from your employees being part of too many teams
Burnout: Employees juggling multiple teams may experience burnout due to excessive workload and stress, leading to decreased productivity. Excessive workloads can adversely affect employees’ mental and physical health, leading to increased absenteeism and reduced overall well-being.
Quality of work: When employees are stretched across numerous teams, it can be challenging to focus on tasks, affecting the quality of work and attention to detail. With limited time and energy, employees may not deliver their best work, impacting the quality of output and potentially harming the reputation of the organization.
Reduced Efficiency: Splitting time and effort among various teams may lead to inefficiencies, as employees may struggle to manage conflicting priorities, resulting in delayed or incomplete tasks.
Employee Satisfaction: Constantly being overloaded with work can decrease job satisfaction and motivation, leading to higher turnover rates as employees seek less stressful environments.
Recent research shows that working on too many projects actually harms performance and is not beneficial for employees, projects, or firms. Almost 90% of women say they’re feeling burnt out, and almost 50% of women say they’re considering leaving the workplace or at least reducing hours. A third of men are considering the same thing.
Careful consideration should be given when assigning additional projects to employees who are already engaged in numerous teams, as this can impact both the employee’s well-being and the overall effectiveness of the firm. Checking up and monitoring employees who are part of multiple projects within the organization is a good practice to ensure their well-being and productivity are still at a high level.
