The primary challenge lies in the increasing volume of responsibilities placed on management. In addition to regular operational workloads, managers are frequently assigned deep dives and ad hoc requests with turnaround expectations reduced to an absolute minimum. In many cases, not being present when an email request is sent is not considered sufficient justification for missing a deadline. These added tasks are not offset by any reduction or reprioritization of existing responsibilities, resulting in sustained overload. Burnout among managers mirrors the burnout observed at the agent level, driven by constant deadline pressure and the expectation to absorb new responsibilities without additional support or resources. Additionally, the frequent removal of managers who are deemed incapable of meeting performance expectations—regardless of reason—creates an atmosphere of instability and negatively impacts morale. Overall, this pattern does not present well and contributes to a lack of confidence in long-term sustainability. While these challenges are not related to compensation, they significantly affect engagement, morale, and retention, alongside a growing perception that raising concerns will not lead to meaningful change. Outside of the organization’s friendly culture, there are limited structural or operational positives that meaningfully counterbalance the ongoing strain placed on leadership teams.
Further compounding these challenges, a significant portion of contacts routed to the Prescription department originate from core issues that do not require prescription-level handling. This misalignment drives consistently high occupancy, contributes to failing service levels, and places unnecessary cognitive and emotional strain on agents. As a result, agent morale continues to decline, job expectations become increasingly inaccurate compared to the role as presented, and frustration grows across the team. The ongoing response has often been a push for agents to sign up for overtime; however, overtime does not address the root cause of the problem. Instead, it reinforces burnout, masks systemic routing, and workload issues, and places additional pressure on both agents and leadership to sustain an unsustainable operating model.
