Wednesday 2 February 2022

How to Prevent Project Resource Depletion





Exhaustion is a condition in which the work performed ceases to seem particularly important. When people stop being interested in what they're doing (assuming they were interested at first!) and only want to come home and rest, they're exhausted at work. Of course, there may be other reasons, but exhaustion is common in large projects with tight deadlines and a large workload.

Exhaustion occurs when a person works for wear and tear and wastes all physical and mental strength. People can continue to do a minimal amount of work, but no longer work effectively in their position. Project managers should beware of exhaustion, but more importantly, they should try to prevent exhaustion before it occurs.

Resources in projects tend to run out of steam before the project is completed. Below are some tips for preventing exhaustion in project teams.

Breaks


Parents know how helpful breaks are. They use them to smooth out painful situations, calm children, and sometimes to think in silence. The project manager should not force his team members not to work, it is better to provide regular breaks to smooth out situations and allocate time for reflection.

Whether a break takes the form of a long weekend or a long lunch in the middle of the week, sometimes not working is more rewarding than working. A break in work allows the group to relax before returning to hard work.

Elimination of stress


Suppressing stress is somewhat similar to a break, but in this case, the project manager is aimed at a specific cause of stress and exhaustion. If there is a problem in the project, then the project manager should completely eliminate it and not allow it to remain until it causes exhaustion in the project. For example, if a deadline is unrealistic, and the team continues to work to meet it without hope of meeting it, then this situation should be solved in any necessary way – by postponing the deadline, reducing the scale or assigning resources that can finish the project on time.

Milestones


Regular checkpoints for the group throughout the project will help everyone take a break and relax before moving on to the next phase or task. A break is used when necessary, but a checkpoint should be included in the schedule, for example, when the main stage is reached or the work phase is completed.


The checkpoint allows the project team to take a break from work and reflect on what has been done so far. The project manager can evaluate what worked and what didn't work and make adjustments further.

Realistic requirements



Among other things, the resources in the project need to be treated with respect, which includes realistic requirements for the work that can be done. The requirement that people work 60 or 70 hours a week and meet unrealistic deadlines, imposed arbitrarily, leads to the exhaustion of the group's forces, no matter how many checkpoints or breaks the project manager makes. The best way to prevent a group from being exhausted is to make sure they are given the keys to their own success; people run out of steam when they don't see a chance to succeed, and so realistic requirements go a long way.


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