25 Mar 2026
A new study shows how employees working on multiple project teams at the same time try to avoid burnout—and why this often has consequences for the entire team.
© Unsplah/Austin Diestel
Prof. Dr. Helene Tenzer, Head of the Chair of International Management, together with Prof. Dr. Martin Högl, Head of the Institute for Leadership and Organization, Maria Tims (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Philip Yang (University of Paderborn), and Steffen Wütz (ESB Business School Reutlingen), investigated how employees in demanding and interdependent work environments organize their work across different teams. The study was published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior.
In many companies today, employees work simultaneously in multiple project or agile teams. What is considered flexible and efficient often leads to intense time pressure, constant task switching, and growing stress in day-to-day work. The study now shows how employees respond to this and independently reorganize their work behind the scenes to remain effective. While this relieves the burden on individuals, it can create new tensions within the team. “Although individuals work in multiple teams simultaneously, each team thinks it is the center of the universe and expects immediate responses and full availability,” says Prof. Dr. Helene Tenzer of the LMU Munich School of Management.
If you just apply enough pressure, everything will get done
The workload has increased significantly in many organizations in recent years. Competition and complexity are on the rise, while staffing levels are being reduced. As a result, tasks fall to a small number of highly qualified specialists. “In many companies, the prevailing mindset is still: if you just apply enough pressure, everything will get done,” says Tenzer. The study focuses on the phenomenon of multiteaming, in which employees work in multiple teams simultaneously. While this increases companies’ adaptability and allows for the flexible deployment of scarce skilled workers, it often leads to highly fragmented workdays.
Working in up to ten teams simultaneously
For the study, 81 employees of a European automotive company were interviewed; they were working in multiple agile teams at the same time. Most worked in two to nine teams simultaneously, and some even in ten or more. This is particularly challenging when dealing with complex tasks. Employees must constantly switch between topics, meetings, and team contexts. “Specialists in particular need time to get back into a topic,” says Tenzer.
Three Strategies for Coping with Workload
To cope with this workload, many employees actively change the way they work. They independently adapt tasks and processes to better manage the demands of their jobs. In work research, this is referred to as job crafting.
Three typical strategies have been identified:
• Tasks are eliminated,
• the effort required for certain activities is reduced,
• work is deliberately bundled into uninterrupted blocks of time.
These adjustments can reduce one’s own overload, but often have consequences for others.
When someone drops the ball, someone else often has to pick it up
Especially in agile teams, employees are highly dependent on one another. When individuals have to redefine their roles, the workload often shifts within the team. “When someone drops the ball, someone else often has to pick it up. Especially in agile teams, we’re extremely dependent on one another,” adds Tenzer. Many of the respondents described a moral dilemma: while they know that their decisions can place an additional burden on colleagues, they no longer see any alternative for themselves. Some drew clear boundaries, even if others suffered as a result.
“Some interviewees said: I know this means more work for others, but I can’t go on like this,” reports Tenzer.
Working at the Limit
The interviews also reveal just how strained the situation already is for many employees. Virtually all respondents reported working overtime. “None of these people were lazy,” Tenzer emphasizes. “This is about mental health and remaining able to work in the long term.” Especially in light of the shortage of skilled workers, this is a key issue for companies, as highly qualified experts are not available in unlimited supply.
What Companies Can Learn From This
From the researchers’ perspective, organizations should take a closer look at how many parallel projects they expect individual employees to handle. Multiteaming can be useful, but only within realistic limits.
Equally important are spaces where teams can openly discuss workload, priorities, and task distribution, such as during sprint planning or retrospectives. “You should consciously make room for such discussions,” says Tenzer. “Then teams can find solutions together before overload sets in.”
Tenzer, H., Hoegl, M., Tims, M., Yang, P., & Wütz, S. (2026). I Can't Split Myself in Two (or Five): Job Crafting in Highly Demanding and Interdependent Work Environments. Journal of Organizational Behavior.