Doesn't sound like our leave system is broken. It sounds like commanders and leaders aren't stepping up and pushing the issue higher when they are genuinely undermanned for necessary, critical work.
Reflecting from a civillian perspective. . .
Concerns I would have would be the degree of unaccounted work hours, and especially in situations where that has become the status quo.
Are these hidden hours of work documented somehow, in lieu of people getting paid for the extra-hours they put in, the extra jobs they absorb, etc.. It doesn't sound like the reality is going to show up on the data from payroll clerks, since no extra costs in pay for the hidden labour. Would be a problem if decision-makers are relying on that data alone. . .?
Without that data of hidden work hours (and individuals working e.g. 3ranks/jobs at once, probably causing overtime, unaccounted-for hidden work hours), it's going to skew analyses, affect predictions of labour (rank/unit/role) requirements if not holding the reality of what it actually is and lead to undermanned departments. Leadership would need to
make sure stats are kept of unpaid hours, and not look the other way (as that happens in civvy world, detrimentally) and that data also needs to make it up to those presiding over decisions such as cutbacks, 'stream-lining' of departments, etc.
Allowing persistent functioning in "crisis mode" as status quo mode, doesn't leave the extra for when actual crisis situations hit and it burns people out, can lead to losing good quality workers that you need, due to illnesses, burnout. It can make a leader look good for a while in the short-term-- "look at our productivity, functioning with less", something to boast about (as happens in the civvy world, be 'promoted for'). . . but the reality eventually does catch up (burnout, shortage of workers) and one would hope that wouldn't come at a time of 'high operational tempo' and when not having the time to adequately train, supervise and develop others talents into the operationally needed positions. . .
Case Study on Burnout:
I deal with a "workaholic" loved one. He takes pride in his work; has a very strong work-ethic; extremely loyal; is a team-player-- will put in the extra hours for the good of the company; puts extra hours in to ease upper-management transitions; works extra-hard during 'increased operational tempo'; will help others out if their load is too much, that day, etc.. . . but then he starts covering for other employees who are not working up to speed (and they take advantage of that); they do like the "MIR-Commando"-- when work demands are high, they skip out, get "sick" and so he also covers for that (and one pers is clearly a multiple-user of that-- it's entirely predicable!). . . and so he does extra work to just to keep his own lane clean (believing that if he doesn't cover that work, the product of the work he is actually responsible for will suffer and he will be held to account for it). He has personal ego-issues/values/principles which are less adaptive to the good of the whole, e.g. to not rat on "slackers" and to not complain about extra work (with a pride, "I can take it", I'm competent)-- what was thought of as temporary, "I'll help them out because it's needed" to gradually losing his entire life to work. Not healthy for him, and nor for the 'team'.
Result/Burnout Sickness: This built-up into covering for more positions, jobs on top of what he was responsible for and resulted in him working long, extra hours-- and he lost it so much (not protecting his boundaries); working for free-- when not not even mandated by his profession to do so.
The free-labour, for which the bosses knew, but turned a blind eye to-- and it made them look like masters of productivity, i.e.; less labour, more bang for the buck. Could sell product competitively, with cheap labour costs. Short-term benefit for them, until reality hit, because of contracts made with clients which under-estimated real labour hours. And when that reality caught up, during high operational tempo. . . The risks are failing to meet terms of contract, to produce what was expected and agreed upon; failure to complete contract on time; boss/owner would have to absorb those costs of failed contract, plus the cost to professional/corporate reputation [which can't be bought back]. . .
To deal with workaholic loved one, who's prided himself on his work ethic, stand behind his work, be accountable for it's quality, etc.; I needed to show him the other side of the equations, reality-check re: the harm to the team, enabling bad work of others, so they escape accountability; potential harm where his hard work is not helping his company and others within the company face reality and the consequences that can have. . . The big boss was only looking at the payroll-to-labour equations, as they do when brokering contracts with clients on those costs (under-estimating $ value, and time values)-- completely uninformed, not based in reality. When workaholic left, the co-workers weren't too happy about the long hours for them and there are risks to losing trained workers as a result and that would not be good at high operational tempo times (logistics work situation I'm referring to).
IMO, it's important for any type of leadership (in CF, that is pretty much everyone, isn't it?) to appreciate the fuller picture, and account for hidden labour, so others can be realistic in planning department needs, costs, ranks/roles/positions, etc. Enabling unnecessary crisis mode functioning through times when that is more easily ameliorated (staff it properly and ready-to-go for higher operational tempos) is not functional and for CF, it's even beyond what's normally predictable tempos (drop-of the hat changes in tempo, requirments) vs. other types of work environments/businesses where there is more control (well, with competent management, analysis, etc.).
Burnout, contagious effects from the behaviours; over-enabling dysfunctional behaviours and that spreading organizationally can have very high costs, both individually, collectively and organizationally, and also be unaccounted for by just "counting the bean" (the further up, the more detached from the "ground realities" can happen-- communitcation is important). . . some critical components of functioning can be missed. . .
I think people have identified some important issues, that can have spreading, unwanted systemic effects re: overtime; behaviours incumbent in of IR; multi-roles-- one person doing 3 jobs; overtime as status quo (instead of reserved for when it's absolutely needed). . . hidden labour across the board, and also within some 'departments'/units/HQs (whatever to call it?). In CF, it seems things are very interdependent across the whole of it all; wouldn't want crumbling in "house of cards", domino effects. . . and in the environment/context of cutbacks and 'streamlining" of sections, etc., I'd be concerned: You guys protect our Country-- It's important!
