WHEN NEW WORK ARRIVES, SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE

Lu Pillar: Design Sustainable Work
Read time: 3 to 4 minutes

IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING

When you add new work, make the trade-off visible at the same time.

Something stops. Something moves. Something gets changed. Or more support is added.

You don’t have to say no to every new request, but you do need to be clear about what saying yes changes.

WHAT'S HAPPENING

New work often gets added without anything else changing. If nobody decides what stops, moves or gets smaller, your team has to make room themselves by either rushing, delaying other work, cutting back on checking or working extra hours.

The trade-off still happens. It just happens out of sight.

WHAT IT CAN LOOK LIKE

• New work is added and nothing else changes.

• Deadlines are agreed before existing commitments are checked.

• “Just for the next few weeks” becomes normal business.

• Your team stops raising capacity concerns because previous conversations changed nothing.

• Managers find out late that other work has quietly moved to make room.

WHAT IT COSTS

When the trade-off is hidden:

• Quality drops and important work is delayed.

• Reliable employees absorb the gap, increasing risk of burnout and turnover.

• Managers lose a clear picture of what the team can realistically deliver.

• The organisation spends more time dealing with missed deadlines, errors, rework and urgent escalations.

You lose control of the trade-off when you leave it to happen silently.

WHAT THIS ENABLES

Making the trade-off visible can feel like another conversation when everyone is already busy. But it gives you more control over the workload.

You aren’t expected to protect your team from every busy period or reject every new priority. You are expected to make deliberate decisions about the work you and your team are responsible for delivering.

Sometimes that means stopping something, moving a deadline, reducing the scope or asking for more support. If the decision sits above your authority, take the options and risks to the person who can make it.

High job demands can be a psychosocial hazard when they are severe, prolonged or frequent. Employers have legal duties in Australia to manage psychosocial risks, and managers play an important role in how work is prioritised, allocated and escalated.

When trade-offs are visible:

• You have a clearer picture of what your team can realistically deliver.

• Your team is less likely to decide what gets dropped.

• Risks to deadlines, quality and workload surface earlier.

• You have better information when managing priorities with your own manager.

• Your team can focus on the work that matters most.

Good workload management is not fitting everything in. It is deciding what gets done with the time and resources available.

USE THESE WORDS

When you are allocating new work to your team:

“We’re taking this on, so something else needs to change. From what I can see, we could move [work], reduce [scope] or add [support]. You’re closer to the work. Is there anything I am missing, and what would you recommend?”

You are still responsible for the decision. The point is to get the information from the person closest to the work before you make it.

When new work is being added by someone above you:

“We can take this on. The team is committed to [key work/priorities]. To deliver this by [date], we’ll need to move, reduce or stop something else. My recommendation is [option]. What would you like us to prioritise?”

If the answer is still “do everything”, try:

“I can ask the team to do that, but with the current workload there is a risk to [deadline/quality/workload]. Which should take priority?”

TRY IT THIS WEEK

The next time new or urgent work arrives, don’t announce it by itself. Put the trade-off in the same conversation.

CHECK IN TWO WEEKS

Track two numbers:

New or urgent pieces of work added: ___
Visible trade-off decisions made: ___

If work keeps being added without a corresponding decision, you have found the issue.

WHEN THIS GUIDE ISN'T ENOUGH

If excessive workload is ongoing rather than a temporary pressure, prioritisation alone may not solve it. Staffing, resources, role design, systems, recovery and health and safety responsibilities may need to be reviewed through the appropriate organisational processes.

NEED MORE SUPPORT?

Lu offers two next-step options.

Run It gives teams practical tools to work through the issue themselves.

Embed It provides independent support to understand what is driving the problem, tailor the response and help new practices stick.