What are the effects of an understaffed versus properly staffed company?

Anonymous

September 23,2022 at 8:26PM UTC

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What are the effects of an understaffed versus properly staffed company? I'm curious if this impacts business productivity as much as it impacts employee wellbeing. Currently dealing with a situation where the employer is intentionally understaffing.

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AnonymousSeptember 23,2022 at 8:46PM UTC
This is just my personal opinion…but I do believe being properly staffed brings out the best productivity in employees. Maybe it goes hand in hand with their well-being too. I tend to see the best performance when we are properly staffed and everyone can work effectively.
AnonymousSeptember 23,2022 at 10:51PM UTC
Short term exhaustion, long term burnout.
Long term burnout results in permanent loss of productivity, staff turnover and low moral.
Kathryn MontbriandSeptember 25,2022 at 3:43PM UTC
There are a few reasons a company might choose to understaff - two I have seen play out:
1) as a short-term cost cutting method / if there are financial expectations to meet a hiring freeze helps you get there
2) to identify where there is waste in the system. Understaffing means that the most important tasks get done and/or employees rise to the occasion and do it all. It can be a lever to pull if you want to cut things out or push your employees to greater productivity (in the process probably losing a few who opt out of increased workload).
Both can add stress to the existing employee base.
One way to think about either scenario - are there places where you see waste and can make recommendations for efficiency / improvement? Are there steps or processes that you see as duplicative or not adding value to the end customers. If so, raise the ideas to your organization and help them meet whatever goal they are working towards!