Basic Concepts of Employee Workload in Institutions

BASIC CONCEPTS OF EMPLOYEE WORKLOAD IN INSTITUTIONS A. Definition of Workload According to Purbaningrat & Surya (in Arnisyah, 2021, p. 13) workload is a number of activities that require expertise and must be carried out within a certain period of time in physical or psychological form. In line with what Yuniarsih and Suwatno (in Priyanto, 2018, p. 165) said, workload is a number of processes or activities that must be completed by an organizational unit systematically within a certain period of time to obtain information about the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of an organizational unit. Meanwhile, according to Munandar (in Harini, et al, 2018, p. 17) workload is tasks that must be completed by employees within a certain time by utilizing their potential and skills. The understanding of workload is also stated by Kurnia (in Irawati. R & Carollina. D. A, 2017, p. 52) workload is a process of analyzing the time used by a person or group of people in completing the tasks of a job (position) or group of positions (work units) carried out under normal circumstances/conditions. B. Factors Affecting Workload Harini, et al (2018:16) state that there are several factors that influence workload as follows. a. External Factors Loads that come from outside the worker's body (wring stressors) such as: • The tasks carried out are of a physical nature, such as the work situation, spatial layout, workplace, work tools and facilities, working conditions, work attitudes, while the tasks of a mental nature are such as the complexity of the work, the level of difficulty of the work, the training or education obtained, job responsibilities. • Work organization, such as working periods, rest periods, shift work, night work, wage systems, organizational structure models, delegation of duties and authority. • The work environment includes the physical work environment, biological work environment, and psychological work environment. b. Internal factors Internal factors are factors that originate from within the body as a result of reactions to external work loads. The body's reaction is called strain, the severity of the strain can be assessed both objectively and subjectively. Internal factors include somatic factors (gender, age, body size, nutritional status, health condition), psychological factors (motivation, perception, beliefs, desires and satisfaction). Meanwhile, Gibson (Chandra. R & Adriansyah. D, 2017, pp. 671-672) mentions the factors that influence workload as follows. • Time pressure (time pressure) The existence of time limits or deadlines can actually increase motivation and produce high work performance, but time pressure can also become an excessive workload which can result in many errors appearing or a person's health condition decreasing. • Work schedule or working hours The amount of time spent doing a job contributes to the experience of work demands, which is one of the factors that causes stress in the work environment. A busy, continuous work schedule, without rest or holidays, can affect a person's physical health. • Role ambiguity and role conflict Role ambiguity or role ambiguity and role conflict can influence a person's perception of their workload. • Noise Employees with very noisy working conditions can affect work effectiveness in completing their tasks, so that it can disrupt concentration and indirectly interfere with the achievement of tasks and will certainly increase the workload. • Information overload The large amount of information that workers enter and absorb at the same time can cause the workload to become heavier. The use of technology and the use of sophisticated work facilities requires special adaptation from workers. The more complex the information received, the more it can affect the worker's learning process and so it can affect the worker's health if it is not handled properly. • Temperature extremes or heat overload As with noise, risky working conditions such as high indoor air temperatures also have an impact on health. This can happen if the condition lasts for a long time and there is no equipment to deal with it. • Repetitive action There are many jobs that require repetitive body actions, such as workers using computers and spending most of their time typing, or assembly line workers who have to operate machines with the same procedures every time or where there is a lot of repetition of movements, boredom and a feeling of monotony will eventually arise. can result in reduced attention and potentially harm if personnel fail to act appropriately in an emergency. • Responsibility Each type of responsibility can be a workload for some people. The results show that responsibility for people creates work-related stress. On the other hand, the more responsibilities there are, the lower the work-related workload. C. Workload Measurement Workload measurements are carried out to obtain information regarding the level of effectiveness and efficiency of an organization's work based on the amount of work that must be completed within one year. Measuring workload can be carried out in various procedures, but according to Chain (in Mahawati. E., et al. 2021, pp. 52-53) he has broadly classified three categories of workload measurement. The three categories are: a. Subjective measurements, namely measurements based on the assessment and reporting by workers of the workload they feel in completing a task. This type of measurement generally uses a rating scale. b. Performance measurement, namely measurements obtained through observing aspects of behavior/activities displayed by workers. One type of performance measurement is measurement that is measured based on time. Measuring performance using time is a method for determining the completion time of a job carried out by workers who have certain qualifications, in a predetermined work atmosphere and carried out at a certain work tempo. c. Physiological measurements, namely measurements that measure the level of workload by knowing several aspects of the worker's physiological response when completing a particular task/job. Measurements are usually made on pupillary reflexes, eye movements, muscle activity and other body responses. d. Time measurement can be used to get a measure of the workload and performance that applies in a work system. Because the method used in this research is a scientific method, the results can be accounted for. Apart from that, according to Hart and Staveland (in Najib. M. Y, 2020, p. 20) the method for measuring workload is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), which is a relatively subjective measurement (multidimensional scaling). takes time to apply. In NASA-TLX there are six dimensions of workload measurement, namely: • Mental Demand: the demands of mental and perceptual activity needed to complete work. • Physical Demand: physical strength needed to complete the job. • Temporal Demand (time requirement): the time needed to complete the work. • Performance: success in completing work/achieving predetermined targets. • Effort (level of effort): the level of mental and physical strength expended to achieve the desired work results. • Frustration Level (frustration level): the level of feeling insecure, hopeless, offended, stressed and disturbed compared to the feelings of security, satisfaction, suitability, comfort and selfsatisfaction felt while doing the job. D. Workload Indicator According to Putra (in Rolos, J.K.R., et al, 2018, p. 21) there are 4 indicators of workload, namely: a. Targets that must be achieved: Individual views regarding the size of the work targets given to complete their work. Views regarding work results that must be completed within a certain time period. b. Working conditions: Includes how individuals view their working conditions, for example making decisions quickly when working on goods, as well as dealing with unexpected events such as doing extra work outside the specified time. c. Time use: Work time used in activities directly related to production (circle time, or standard or basic time). d. Job standards: The impression an individual has regarding his or her job, for example the feelings that arise regarding the workload that must be completed within a certain time period. Meanwhile, Tarwaka (in Budiasa. I. K, 2021, p. 35) states the workload indicators as follows. 1. Time load shows the amount of time available for planning, implementing, monitoring tasks or work. 2. Mental effort load, which means the amount of mental effort in carrying out a job. 3. Psychological stress load which shows the level of job risk, confusion and frustration. E. Impact of Workload According to Manuaba (in Irawati. R & Carollina. D. A, 2017, pp. 52-53) Excessive workload will result in bad impacts, namely it will cause fatigue both physically and mentally and emotional reactions such as headaches, indigestion, and irritability. Meanwhile, too little workload, where work occurs due to reduced movement, will cause boredom. Boredom in the work being done or doing too little work results in a lack of attention to work, potentially endangering workers. Workload can also have a negative impact on employees, this negative impact can be in the form of: • Quality of work decreases, Workloads that are too heavy are not balanced with the capabilities of the workforce. Excessive workloads will result in decreased work quality as a result of physical fatigue and decreased concentration, self-monitoring, and work accuracy so that work does not meet standards. • Customer complain Customer complaints arise because of work results, namely because the service received does not match expectations. Like having to wait a long time, unsatisfactory service results. • Increase in absenteeism rates Too much workload can also result in employees being too tired or sick. This has a bad impact on the smooth working of the organization because the level of absenteeism is too high, so it can affect the overall performance of the organization.