Practise this conversation
How to tell your manager you have too much work
The ask you’ve been rehearsing on the way in, said out loud first to someone who answers back.
Ian is waiting for you
Before you go in
Since the other administrator left in July you’ve done both jobs by starting early and skipping lunch. Last week two invoices went out late and a supplier rang Ian, the branch manager, directly. He asked you to cover for a few weeks and knows it’s been three months. You’ve asked him for fifteen minutes on Friday.
Good luck.
Your goal
Show Ian what’s on your plate and what’s slipped, propose what should move, and ask him to choose.
Practise: up to 8 turns, typed, about five minutes, then feedback from our AI coach. Your first go at this conversation is free. After that, one BOM Credit a go (packs from £3).
Pro: talk it through out loud with Ian, our AI character, for up to six minutes. Then a full report, a coach hint on your second go and your own words to take in. 6 BOM Credits for both goes.
What you’ll practise
- Laying out what’s on your plate in a short list, with what’s already slipped.
- Proposing what should drop, move or wait, and asking him to choose.
- Leaving with two things off your plate and a date to check, without agreeing to a third.
Your goal
Your free go at this one is used
One BOM Credit runs the whole conversation
Each new go costs one BOM Credit: a full conversation with Ian and the coach’s feedback. Your free go at the other conversations is still there.
No code? Get BOM Credits, from 10 for £3. Your code comes by email and works across the coach tools. Full refund within 14 days if you haven’t used a BOM Credit.
What worked
Where it slipped
Say this instead
One thing to practise
Read next
After the real one
When is the real conversation? We’ll email you once, the day after, to ask how it went.
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Show the conversation
Ready for the real one?
Rehearse it with Ian until you’re ready
Practise the conversation until it feels like the second time, not the first, and walk in with your best words.
- Two full rehearsals: up to 20 turns each, out loud or typed
- On the second, a hint from the coach after each reply
- Your own best lines on a card to take in with you
With the Best value pack (50 BOM Credits), 6 BOM Credits is about £1.44 · $1.90 · €1.70 · A$2.90. After that, one more go with hints is 2 BOM Credits. Private: use made-up names. We don’t store what you type; our AI provider processes it to reply.
We don’t store what you type; our AI provider processes it to reply. Use a made-up name for the person you’re thinking of. The feedback is written by AI from your conversation and is a second pair of eyes, not a verdict on you.
Practice for reflection, not legal or HR advice. If it involves harassment, discrimination, health or safety, talk to HR or ACAS.
The full picture
You're the administrator in a small branch office of a building supplies firm. In July the other administrator left and wasn't replaced. Since then you've done both jobs: your own invoicing and the phones, plus her purchase orders, the supplier queries and the weekly stock report. You've kept it going by starting early and skipping lunch, and nobody's complained, because nothing's gone wrong yet. Last week two invoices went out late and a supplier rang the manager directly.
Ian, the branch manager, is decent and buried. He knows the job's been doubled because he's the one who asked you to cover "for a few weeks". You've asked for fifteen minutes with him on Friday afternoon. You want some of it off your plate, or at least a decision about what drops, and you don't want to come across as someone who can't cope.
Why it's hard
Saying you have too much work feels like admitting you can't do your job, so people wait until they're drowning and then it comes out as a complaint, or a crisis, or a resignation. The manager has usually half-noticed and been avoiding it, because dealing with it means a hard conversation with his own boss about headcount. He can't see your list, so "I'm overloaded" sounds like a feeling. What works is making it visible: what you've got, what's slipping, what you'd drop or delay, and a question that makes him choose. The skill is to turn a complaint into a decision he can make in the room, and to not say yes to one more thing while you're in there.
Two-thirds of managers say they're uncomfortable communicating with the people they manage.
Lou Solomon, Harvard Business Review, March 2016 (survey by Interact and Harris Poll)82% of people who enter management have had no formal management and leadership training.
Chartered Management Institute with YouGov, Taking Responsibility, October 2023What usually goes wrong, and what you'll practise
What usually goes wrong
- "I'm drowning" with no list. He's sympathetic, says well done for coping, and nothing changes.
- Blaming him for not replacing the leaver. True, and now he's defending a decision his boss made.
- Agreeing to pick up the new price list "while you're here" at the end of the same conversation.
What you'll practise
- Laying out what's on your plate in a short list, with what's already slipped.
- Proposing what should drop, move or wait, and asking him to choose.
- Leaving with two things off your plate and a date to check, without agreeing to a third.
Read before you practise
Questions people ask
How do I tell my manager I have too much work?
Show the list, not the feeling. What you've got, what's already slipping, what you'd drop or push back, and then one question: which of these do you want me to stop doing? A manager can't fix "I'm overwhelmed". They can fix "these two things need to move".
What if it's affecting my health?
Then say that too, plainly, and expect it to be taken seriously. If stress is making you ill, your employer has a duty to look at it, and ACAS and your GP are both there for that. Practise the workload conversation here. Don't practise your way through a health problem.
Credits here are BOM Credits: packs from 10 for £3 to 100 for £20, and one code works across every coach tool on the site. Full refund within 14 days if you haven't used a BOM Credit. Anything wrong, email [email protected]. How BOM Credits work