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How would you handle a situation where you felt overwhelmed in the specific work you were doing? especially while being in the IT department

I'm asking because PwC is one place I want to work and was very curious in regards to IT. #pwc #information-technology #information-technology-and-services #career #career-choice

information-technology information-technology-and-services pwc
Thank you comment icon You may turn to your colleagues or boss for help if you are really too overwhelmed by the complexity of the tasks involved. However, you should try your very best before turning to others for help. All the best Jennifer
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Karine’s Answer

Collaboration is the key, help others when they have an issue and ask for help when you need it ! If there is an issue and even after trying your best you cannot see any solution, your manager is the first point to escalate this! Do not let the stressing situation overwhelm you there are solutions to everything except death.
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Tadeusz’s Answer

You need to be assertive. Learning how to say no - diplomatically and graciously, but still no - can be a life-saver. Many of the people I used to work with who are the most overwhelmed simply don't know how or aren't willing to set reasonable boundaries for themselves, and so end up committing to much more than they can reasonably accomplish.
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Philip’s Answer

Lots of good feedback already! My thoughts are the folllowing:

  1. Make sure you keep the work you are doing focused on the things that help the larger organization's goals. Print out the company or organization's mission statement and/or goals. Put them right in front of you!
  2. Look at your calendar and make sure you aren't doing things that you don't need to be doing. Are you going to meetings that you don't need to? Do you host meetings which can be done in some other way?
  3. Learn how to say NO! This can be hard one; Especially if you don't have a leader who will support you!
  4. Start each day with a list of what you need to do today and find ways to keep yourself on task. Don't let phone calls, email, IM, texts, etc. take you away from your work. You might want to schedule these types of things on your calendar as they do need to get done.
  5. Remember you aren't doing it alone! You have leaders, team members, and mentors. Make sure you work together on these items!
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Linzhi’s Answer

From my experience, I'd say recognise that you can't be an expert at everything IT and ask for help. PwC has many IT specialists with a breadth of experience. Don't be afraid to ask questions!
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Hanna’s Answer

Hi Dhruv,

Being overwhelmed is a normal learning process. But you need to know when you should ask for help. Don't afraid to speak up to your team that you need a help, you don't understand something etc.
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Ying’s Answer

A easy way I found to be effective is to get organized by listing out all the specific work you have and categorize them. For example, I have 3 things that are low hanging fruit, 4 things that just need time to do the work, 5 things need to dig into/research which takes time, etc. After having your list, you prioritize them and think about solutions. Regarding priority & solution, always come up with a plan and consult your boss to make sure they are on board or help you sort things out.


Hope this helps.

Ying recommends the following next steps:

Use the tool/method that fits you the most to organize your work when you feel overwhelmed.
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Lakeshia’s Answer

If you're ever feeling overwhelmed at work or in any other environment, I think it's critical to take that deep breath and develop a plan. First, it's important to identify what specific aspects are causing you to feel that way. Secondly, I would focus on solutions. For instance, if you're overwhelmed because trouble shooting strategies are not working for you, you would want to seek out training and practice opportunities to improve in that area. Or, if you're overwhelmed because of timing issues, you might want to develop to-do lists for each day and follow through. Next, I would develop a solution-focused plan and again, follow through. Finally, I would speak a peer or supervisor and seek guidance. You could inform them of your plans and also implement any of their suggested strategies.
Thank you comment icon hi, it's important to understand the root cause first. A diary / tracker of working hours you spend on different activities , then stack ranking activities based on ROI. once you have that, compare with your peers before you address with your manager. In the process, you will understand which activities you can simple get rid off (not worth doing), where you can accelerate and get more efficient based on feedback from your peers , and if you still end up working long hours - then you need to have a conversation with your manager to shift some of the workload elsewhere/ hire more resources. Hope it helps Marija Pindovic
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Dave’s Answer

When feeling stressed I try to:

1) limit multitasking. This is not efficient and can lead you to worrying about other things instead of focusing at the task at hand.

2) Create lists in order of importance and work your way through them.

3) Speak up to others you work with to see if the workload can be shared.
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Simeon’s Answer

I would include a self-feedback process for yourself. Set aside some time at the end of the day or week to look back at what you did and reflect on where you wasted time and what overwhelmed you. Make sure that you don't waste time beating your head against a wall when there are other things you could be working on.
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Joey’s Answer

Whenever I feel overwhelmed by my work to a point where my knowledge and skills aren't helping, I like to reach out to my peers. It helps to know that other people at your level are feeling the same thing and/or might have the answer you were looking for all along.

Quick breaks where I get up from my desk, away from my computer, and walk around my office also help to compose myself. Resetting your brain is a great way to approach a problem with a new outlook where you might see a solution you didn't see before.
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