The team is working evenings every week. How do I respond?
Unsustainable delivery loadTreat persistent overtime as a planning and capacity problem, not a normal performance standard. Review workload, priorities, and causes with the team and responsible managers.
What to do now
- Compare commitments with realistic capacity
- Identify avoidable rework and interruptions
- Reduce or resequence lower-priority work
- Agree a sustainable plan and monitor it
When to escalate
Escalate when
There are safety concerns, significant distress, or commitments beyond available capacity.
Who decides
The team lead and appropriate line manager
Example
A release drops optional scope and reserves recovery time instead of extending every working day.
Mistake to avoid
Praising exhaustion while leaving the workload unchanged.
Prevent a repeat
Review whether working agreements improve delivery and raise people concerns through the appropriate channels.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Tasks
- Resources
- Documents
Make agreed responsibilities and follow-up tasks visible while keeping sensitive people matters in the authorized confidential process. See the platform
Related cases
- We added new people, but productivity dropped. Why?Onboarding and coordination load
- Two team members are in constant conflict. How should I intervene?Unresolved working conflict
- Our approval process takes longer than delivery. How can governance be proportionate?Excessive approval overhead
- Our sprint goal changes every few days. How should we respond?Unstable sprint purpose