Jack Rubin’s Post

I've had more people than work, and I've had more work than people. I would always rather have more work than people. Here's why: When people don't have enough meaningful work, they disengage. They start to question whether their role matters. And frankly, it's soul-crushing when people feel like they aren’t being fully utilized. When you have more work than people, you're forced to prioritize ruthlessly. You focus on what actually moves the needle. Your team develops real problem-solving skills because they have to. And when you need to hire, you have clear, urgent needs—not vague headcount planning. Now, I'm not talking about chronic understaffing or burning people out. That's a different problem. But I'd rather have a lean, fully engaged team tackling abundant opportunities than a bloated one searching for things to do. The tension is real though. Too much work for too long leads to burnout and attrition. But in my experience, the best people want to be challenged and stretched. They want to work on things that matter, not fill time. The balance shifts depending on your industry and growth stage, but given the choice, I'll take the challenge of too much opportunity over the problem of too much capacity every time. What's your take? Would you rather have more work than people, or do you see it differently? #Leadership #Management #HumanResources