Working time in multi-project settings: How project workers manage work overload
International Journal of Project Management XXXXXXXXXX–428
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Project Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijproman
Working time in multi-project settings: How project workers manage work
overload
Julie Delisle
ESG UQAM, 315 Sainte-Catherine East, H2X 3X2, Montreal, Canada
a r t i c l e i n f o
Keywords:
Multi-project management
Project management
Work overload
Work intensification
Practices
a b s t r a c t
Multi-project management is increasing as an organizing mode in the workplace. However, it leads to multiple
issues for project workers, such as intense pressure and work overload. This paper explores how project workers
experience work overload in a multi-project context, especially regarding practices that contribute to maintaining
or preventing it. It builds on a case study of a financial institution in which employees are assigned to many
projects at the same time. Findings uncover four practices related to working time (extending working hours and
managing boundaries) and prioritization (prioritizing emergencies and negotiating work and deadlines). This
paper exposes how issues such as work overload are both, framed by a larger context driving work intensification
and sustained through practices. It also displays the power and agency of individuals, who are not passive toward
work overload. As such, it contributes to extending perspectives and advancing understanding of project work.
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. Introduction
“It cannot continue like this for long, ” told me a portfolio manager,
efe
ing to the high pressure and work overload in his department.
hen asked how long this had been going on, he looked surprised by
he question, or maybe shocked by the answer he was to give: “I have
een here for eight years. It has been like this for eight years. ”
More than fifteen years ago, Engwall and Je
ant XXXXXXXXXXargued
hat allocation of people on projects was the main issue of multi-project
ettings. Other studies have illustrated the high pressure on workers in
ulti-project settings (e.g. Cicmil, Hodgson, Lindgren & Packendorff,
009 , XXXXXXXXXXBut years have passed, and the situation seems to be the
ame. How, and why, are things not changing? The persistence of work
verload in project settings makes it a relevant topic for project man-
gement research since it represents a major shortcoming of this mode
f organization. But we need to go further to better understand the sub-
leties of this situation. Accordingly, this paper pays attention to prac-
ices leading toward work overload; and the research question guiding
his study is: How do project workers manage work overload in multi-
oject settings?
Multi-project organization, defined as “an organizational unit that
xecutes a substantial share of its operations as projects ” ( Engwall &
e
ant, 2003 , p. 403), implies that several projects, drawing at least
ome resources from a common resource pool, are executed simulta-
eously. Multi-project organization
ings unique challenges, but sur-
isingly, despite the complexity associated with the management of
ultiple projects, traditional project management literature has mainly
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ttps:
doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman XXXXXXXXXX
eceived 31 May 2019; Received in revised form 30 March 2020; Accepted 3 April 2
vailable online 14 June 2020
XXXXXXXXXX/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd, APM and IPMA. All rights reserved.
ocused on the execution of a single project, ove
iding the difficulties
hat occur when managing a multi-project setting ( Je
ant, XXXXXXXXXXPut
nother way, there is a need to expand the research on “project man-
gement ” to research on “projects ” and to pay attention to multi-project
ontexts, on which too little attention has been devoted so far ( Geraldi
Söderlund, XXXXXXXXXXThis is especially relevant since this kind of setting
as many consequences. In the study by Engwall and Je
ant (2003) ,
he central issue was the lack of resources, and the allocation of them,
esulting in a firefighting behavior and short-term problem solving.
ika-Viktorsson, Sundström and Engwall XXXXXXXXXXalso depict challenges
elated to multi-project organization, such as lack of opportunities fo
ecuperation, inadequate routines, scarce time resources, and a large
umber of simultaneous projects leading to project overload.
In order to understand these issues, a case study was conducted of a
arge financial institution co
esponding to a multi-project organization
n which employees were assigned to a large number of projects. Small to
edium-sized projects increase the problem of employee well-being and
ntensity of work in organizations undertaking them ( Turner, Huemann
Keegan, 2008 ), which adds to the relevance of studying the actuality
f project workers in such a setting. A practice lens ( Nicolini, XXXXXXXXXXhas
een applied for this study, building on Whittington XXXXXXXXXXcore con-
epts of praxis, practices and practitioners and adopting a structuration
erspective.
Four practices related to two areas (working time and prioritization)
ere identified: extending working hours, managing boundaries, pri-
itizing emergencies and negotiating work and deadlines. The results
evealed that work overload has a ripple effect on individuals, projects
020
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J. Delisle International Journal of Project Management XXXXXXXXXX–428
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nd the organization. Because it leads to individual exhaustion, workers
end to make more mistakes, leading to future issues in projects. Further-
ore, people under pressure tend to neglect some important tasks that
e not urgent, leading to a crisis mentality where workers always focus
n what has eventually become an emergency.
This research contributes to enlightening long-term issues of work
verload in projects. By depicting past and future of projects, it con-
ibutes to a better understanding of temporality in multi-project orga-
ization, as projects have impacts beyond their life cycles. But this has
ot been much explored and represents an opportunity for project re-
earch, since the theorization of time and how to relate the temporary
o the more permanent are important avenues to advance literature on
emporary organizing ( Bakker, DeFillippi, Schwab & Sydow, 2016 ).
This paper departs from a rationalistic assumption regarding multi-
oject management and offers an alternative view that follows re-
ent calls that have been made ( Clegg, Killen, Biesenthal & Sankaran,
018 ; Martinsuo, XXXXXXXXXXGiven that more and more organizations adopt
oject organization as a mode of operation ( Bakker, 2010 ), and because
his mode implies time pressure, a better understanding of how people
xperience and manage the situation is essential. The next section pro-
ides a literature review covering the practice lens, work intensification,
nd studies on projects and multi-project organization selected for thei
elevance to the topic of work overload.
. Theoretical background
.1. Practice lens and structuration theory
Authors studying practices may adopt different theoretical perspec-
ives. Seidl and Whittington XXXXXXXXXXpresent perspectives depending on
heir ontologies (flat or tall) and empirical focus (sayings or doings).
ne perspective presented, relating to a tall ontology that focuses on
oings, is the structuration theory ( Giddens, XXXXXXXXXXAccording to struc-
uration theory, neither micro nor macro analysis alone is sufficient; ac-
ors produce and reproduce the institutionalized social structures that
ersist over time and that play a role in framing action ( Giddens, 1984 ).
arzabkowski XXXXXXXXXXpresents three contributions of structuration to
actice:
First, practice is institutionalized in social structures that persist
across time and space. Second, institutional social structures are in-
corporated in the daily practices that constitute action. Third, struc-
tures persist through the tacit knowledge and practical consciousness
of actors who choose familiar patterns because it provides them with
‘ontological security’ ( Jarzabkowski, 2004 , pp. 531,532).
In this vein, Jarzabkowski XXXXXXXXXXoffers a structuration theory frame-
ork integrating both micro and macro explanations and treats strategy
haping as socially dynamic. Structural context is defined as the admin-
strative procedures and systems, such as planning, resource allocation,
nd monitoring and control systems, which are also relevant for the
tudy of projects. In the same way, this paper posits that projects are
ocially dynamic: structures such as plans and resource allocations are
onstructed by individuals and influence their action at the same time.
Also adopting the structuration theory to study strategy-as-
actice, Whittington XXXXXXXXXXpresents three key components of prac-
ice studies: practitioners (actors performing the practices), praxis (what
actitioners actually do) and practices (what practitioners typically
aw on in their praxis). In the strategy-as-practice literature, strategy
s seen as a profession “like law, medicine or journalism… it is an occu-
ational group with a collective identity and a set of connections that
oes far beyond particular organizations ( Whittington, 2007 , p. 1580).
In the same way, project could be conceived as a profession, rep-
esenting a group with a collective identity which relies on specific
actices extending beyond the ones of a particular organization. Just
s strategy practitioners encompass a
oader range of actors than the
enior executives, to include others performing strategy work, such as
420
trategic planners, middle managers, advisors and consultants, this pa-
er proposes to adopt such a
oad perspective for project practitioners,
o include actors implied in project work other than project managers,
uch as project workers and functional managers in matrix organizations
through the allocation of their employees). This contributes to extend-
ng the scope of project management research to include actors othe
han the project managers, who have been far less researched ( Hällgren
Söderholm, 2011 ).
It is recognized in project management research that the actuality of
ojects’ and practitioners’ lived experience of projects needs to be bet-
er understood ( Cicmil, Williams, Thomas & Hodgson, XXXXXXXXXXFollow-
ng the turn seen in other areas of management, project-as-practice has
tarted to gain some attention and momentum in project management
esearch ( Blomquist, Hällgren, Nilsson & Söderholm, 2010 ; Hällgren &
öderholm, XXXXXXXXXXBlomquist et al XXXXXXXXXXpropose a project-as-practice
pproach to increase the relevance of project management research fo
oject practitioners in particular.
Many research topics in project studies could benefit from the prac-
ice lens, such as the one explored in this paper. Project work is known
o exert pressure on people, and the experience and practices of project
orkers in that context deserve attention, as claimed by these authors:
The realization of a project involves many tasks, such as ensuring
sufficient funds, preparing plans, writing reports, and meeting with
contractors and steering committees. The amount of work can place
a significant amount of stress on the people involved, which can
lead to burn-out, family problems, or simply long hours at work.
The everyday work of project members, including managers, engi-
neers, steering committee members, project contractors, and clients,
deserves serious attention but has not been the subject of a great deal
of research to date. ( Hällgren & Söderholm, 2011 , p. 500)
An