Better Conversations: 6 Experts Answer ‘How Do I Tell My Boss I’m at Capacity?’

One in five employees in the U.S. rate their level of burnout as high or very high, according to a recent Statista survey. In another survey, by the freelance service marketplace Fiverr, that figure is over 50 percent.

The top reason for their burnout or mental health challenges is the intense workloads workers are burdened with. Toxic company cultures and pressure from managers follow closely.

As an employee, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of burning out at work. These include understanding your workload in terms of prioritization, developing a clear path of communication with your manager, and setting boundaries.

So, exactly how do you tell your boss you’re at capacity and don't have the bandwidth to take on any more work?

Here are six workplace experts to answer that question.

Career coach Jenn Smith tells InHerSight that setting boundaries and managing workflow is a process.

She explains the 10-step process as follows:

Conduct a self-assessment: Evaluate your workload against your priorities; take into consideration existing commitments, deadlines, and responsibilities outside your immediate role (if applicable).
Ruthless prioritization: Review your tasks and prioritize them based on urgency and importance. Identify which tasks can be postponed, delegated, or reassigned to create more room for new assignments.
Collect data or examples: These will demonstrate your current workload and its impact on your performance. This can include the number of projects you're handling, the hours you're working, and any instances of high-quality work that may have been compromised due to an excessive workload.
Schedule a meeting: Request a one-on-one meeting to discuss your workload. Ensure the meeting is separate from a hectic crunch time or a critical deadline. Send a polite email or message requesting the meeting, briefly mentioning its purpose.
Be prepared and professional: Come to the meeting with a clear and concise message. Avoid blaming or complaining; instead, focus on facts and your desire to maintain high-quality work. Anticipate questions and prepare answers in advance. Calmly and respectfully explain your current workload, including specific projects and tasks. Emphasize your commitment to delivering quality results and express concern that taking on more work may compromise your performance.

Be solution-focused: Propose potential solutions (versus presenting problems). Suggest alternatives like prioritizing tasks, redistributing workload, or requesting additional resources or support to manage the extra workload. Get creative—maybe there's an opportunity to hire a contractor or an intern to support the team.
Listen and remain open: Be open to your manager's perspective and any suggestions they may have. They may not be fully aware of your workload, so this is an opportunity to explain and reach a mutual understanding. Remember this might be the initial conversation and you can have another follow-up.
Set boundaries: If the conversation leads to a resolution, ensure you and your manager agree on clear boundaries for your workload moving forward. Be realistic about what you can handle and commit to delivering results within those boundaries.
Follow up in writing: After the meeting, send a follow-up email summarizing the key points discussed, any agreed-upon actions, and the timeline for implementing any changes or solutions—this helps ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Evaluate your workload regularly: Continuously assess and monitor how changes impact your performance and well-being. If necessary, have periodic check-ins with your manager to make adjustments.

Read more: 25 Tips for Dealing with Burnout

Licensed therapist and coach Alicia Johnson tells InHerSight about the importance of a positive inner mindset when approaching your boss about bandwidth.

Whenever I talk about discussing our limits with our bosses and supervisors, it is important to think of safety. Many workplaces do not create a safe environment for people to give feedback on when they are at their limits, when they need extensions, or if they need help. Some supervisors tell them to suck it up, gaslight them, or make them feel awful for expressing those needs.

Setting boundaries sounds great, but we have to be prepared for people to not always respond in helpful ways. If you are not in a safe environment, are there other people you can talk to, either at work or outside of work? At least talking to someone and putting it out there that you are at your limit can be empowering.

Bring solutions to your meeting

If you are able to bring it up to your supervisor or boss, then I recommend being prepared. What I mean by this is thinking about your needs and possibly even having something written out or bullet points with the messages you would like to get across.

Ask to set up a meeting with your supervisor and let them know what has been going on, what some possible solutions may be (such as your need for a break, extension, to be taken off a project, or whatever it may be), and ask if they have any ideas or suggestions. By coming prepared, with a list of possible solutions, this shows that you take your job seriously and want it to be a collaborative conversation rather than just venting to your boss.

Don't get me wrong, venting is great with your partner, your friends, your therapist, or other people, but if we want to set up these tough conversations for success, this plan can help get a positive response.

Do some inner work first

Now, this all sounds easy (or easyish) but for many people there is a lot of inner mindset work that also needs to be addressed before having these conversations.

Women especially often feel pressure to do it all to prove their worth, to feel adequate or worthy, or to minimize feeling guilty for taking breaks or saying no. Many people are high achievers, perfectionists, or people pleasers who get their worth from achievements and praise. If we acknowledge that we need a break, our inner critic tells us we are weak or bad or inadequate.

In order to minimize that guilt and quiet the critic, I often recommend practicing self-compassion. Think about what you would tell a friend going through a similar situation. Many of us would want our friend to listen to their body and give themselves a break from working hard. We would still think our friend is a hardworking person, but we often don’t think that of ourselves.

You are more than your job

We can also remind ourselves that we are more than our job and find value in other things we do. We can directly challenge those negative thoughts with evidence about how we are hard workers and hard workers take breaks. We can explore hustle culture and the messages our society preaches and decide if those align with our wants and values.

While you’re doing the mindset work, you can also start practicing outside of your workplace. Maybe ask for help at home or set a boundary with a friend. You’ll see it may not be so scary and people can react positively. Then you can start setting those boundaries and having those tough conversations with your supervisors.

Kim Wilkes, head of talent attraction at Zapier, says it's important to communicate openly and re-evaluate the solutions you've discussed with your boss.

I’ve encountered challenges throughout my career, and I understand the overwhelming nature of initiating such conversations. Leading teams has given me a new perspective.

Prepare

Before asking to meet, outline your current projects, deadlines, and priorities, including time estimates and roadblocks you’re facing (a system issue, lack of bandwidth from someone from whom you needed information, etc.) Putting this together first can help ensure you’re prepared for the conversation, and it provides your boss with enough information to help you reach a solution. You could also consider doing a roleplay with a friend or family member to boost your confidence and reduce emotions.

Ask to meet

Ask your boss for time to chat. Let them know there’s something on your mind and you’d like to obtain their input and suggestions. You could share that you’d like to discuss a few things that are on your plate, and if you’re comfortable with it, you could share the prepared details beforehand to allow them time for review.

Share your perspective and seek support

Be honest and transparent. Let your boss know you value their input and support in finding a solution. For instance, you could express that due to current bandwidth constraints, you feel your performance is not at its best. You could also share something such as: “I’d like to take on the new project I was given, but I'm finding it difficult to complete everything within the timeframe we discussed, and I’d like to get ahead of it now.” Let them know that you have their interests and the interests of the team in mind. Walk them through the details you’ve prepared. Then, if you can, propose potential solutions. This could include delegating tasks to another teammate, adjusting deadlines, or reprioritizing some of your work.

Remain open to feedback and advice

Your boss may ask questions or provide additional information to help you manage your workload more effectively. If there’s more support you need, consider asking questions such as, “Is there anything you think I should deprioritize?” or “Is there anything I could tackle in the next couple of weeks after I complete the current task I’m working on?” Ask your boss for suggestions to help you prioritize your workload. There may be parts of a project that don’t need immediate attention, enabling you to still drive some parts of the work forward without feeling overwhelmed.

Continue to seek alignment

Before your next meeting with your boss, review any changes you’ve incorporated and the progress you’ve made. Come prepared to share what’s working, and any roadblocks you might be facing. Keep a positive attitude and remain open to feedback/advice. Taking this approach shows that you are eager to produce your best work and are open/honest when something is keeping you from doing that, with the team and organization in mind. Being open with these conversations can also help ensure you have a balanced workload and are able to prioritize your health and wellbeing.

Personal branding consultant Melanie Denny tells InHerSight to maintain a collaborative approach in the long run.

If your boss asks you to take on additional work when you’re already feeling overwhelmed, speak up. Open communication is key to maintaining a trusting relationship while preserving healthy boundaries.

Before having the conversation, make sure you explore all options including rearranging projects to squeeze this additional workload into your existing responsibilities. You may be surprised what a bit of time management can do for your productivity. Also consider the overtime policy and your capacity to work extra hours to get it done.

How to prepare for the meeting

If taking on more work is an absolute no, take a moment to prepare for the conversation before speaking with your boss. Jot down a list of talking points to clearly articulate your reasoning for turning down the extra project, including the items already on your plate and the time needed to complete them.

During the conversation, reinforce that you don’t want to sacrifice quality because of time constraints. Offer some ideas to come to a resolution; this may include deprioritizing your current projects to fit this one in or reallocating responsibility across the team.

You can also offer to help in a less prominent capacity, still supporting the project without taking on the full workload.

All in all, it’s important to stay calm and not allow your emotions to take over. Be factual, pragmatic, and open to creative solutions while maintaining a collaborative approach to making sure the team meets their productivity goals.

Read more: How to Delegate Like a Boss

Certified life and career coach Emily Liou tells InHerSight that delegation is important when adjusting your workload.

Approaching your boss about being over capacity at work requires tact, honesty, and preparation. The key is to communicate effectively and constructively, focusing on what is concrete rather than just presenting problems.

I recommend getting clear on what specifically is outside your current job responsibilities and adding up to unsustainable burnout. You can do this by tracking your daily activity for a few weeks or months. Start jotting down every activity and highlight each task with a color legend.

Tasks that fall within your scope and/or tasks that need to be automated can be highlighted in green; tasks that need to be delegated in yellow; and tasks that need to be eliminated in red.
Next to each of these tasks should also be the amount of time spent.
Once you review your yellow and red tasks, you should propose a few solutions to how these can be delegated or eliminated.

For instance, is there a colleague who can be trained to take this on? Is there an opportunity to hire an intern or another employee?
If you can’t delegate or eliminate, what do you need to feel this is sustainable and that you’re valued?

Once you have these answers, you can set up a 1:1 meeting letting the manager know you’d like to discuss finding long-term solutions to your current role and responsibilities.

What to say in the meeting

In the meeting, you want to start by letting the employer know you enjoy your role and want to continue making meaningful contributions to the organization.

Then you can share your current situation and explain why it’s a problem for the organization: Deadlines are at risk of not being met; there’s no one to complete tasks if you have to take time for a personal emergency. Your manager likely doesn’t know everything you’ve taken on, so it’s helpful to share all the green, yellow, and red tasks—along with your proposed solutions.

You can also ask for your boss’s input on prioritizing your tasks. This shows you are seeking to manage your workload effectively and value their perspective on what's most important.

After your meeting, send a brief email to your boss summarizing what was discussed, including any agreed-upon solutions or adjustments. This not only ensures clarity but also provides a record of your proactive approach to managing workload challenges.

How to build a sustainable work environment

In the long run, it’s important for your wellbeing to have a sustainable work environment.

Start by fostering a culture of ongoing dialogue. Regular check-ins with your boss about workload and capacity can prevent issues from escalating, thus avoiding burnout and maintaining productivity.

It's also important to create supportive team dynamics. This could involve cross-training to handle different roles or implementing a system for sharing workload during peak seasons. As an individual, don’t forget to prioritize your wellbeing by taking breaks and setting boundaries.

If you hold a managerial position, leading by example is powerful. Demonstrate healthy work habits, take regular time off, respect your team’s boundaries, and recognize their efforts. This not only sets a positive tone but encourages others to emulate these practices.

Finally, if certain practices or policies contribute to stress or overcapacity, raise these issues with HR or senior management. Suggesting improvements can lead to beneficial changes across the organization and create a more sustainable work culture for everyone.

Career consultant Debra Cruz tells InHerSight that open communication is key when addressing bandwidth in the workplace.

To begin with, it is important to have good open communication with your superiors and managers especially when you need to have uncomfortable conversations such as this topic. The mindset of a Millennial or Gen Z employee is vastly different than a Baby Boomer's to describe their approach to work, but let's agree all are concerned about potential negative consequences.

I'll reiterate, open communication is vital to an employee's role. Keeping your manager abreast of the projects, assignments and tasks including timelines, will ease the conversation when additional tasks are assigned.

By summarizing aspects of each project and the timeline, you’re briefing your supervisor on the tasks required to complete the assignment. Additionally, a weekly or biweekly summary gives meaningful insight they will share with leadership.

The best time to discuss the additional work issue is during this briefing. Present it as a thoughtful inquiry, seeking a tactful decision to prioritize each assignment. The supervisor is then presented with the decision of adding, removing, or pausing assignments.

In this approach, you are not saying "no" or expressing that you’re at capacity, but rather allowing your manager to provide input, and a decision is made collaboratively.

Speaking from experience, my role as career counselor/assistant director of employer relations for a private university afforded me opportunities to have variety and diversity in my workload. It was energizing and self-rewarding to swivel my attention between students and employers. Consequently, more and more tasks were given to me, leading to maxed capacity. I was given the foregoing advice from a mentor, and it proved to be invaluable.

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