Workload factors impacting managers

Purpose – The paper seeks to identify elements of lean production that may be applicable to managers. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was administered to 125 middle and lower level managers to assess perceptions about level of workload and amount of workload control. Principal components analysis was employed to identify primary factors. Findings – Five primary factors accounted for 56 percent of total variance. The principal factors corresponded to the lean production concepts of work in process level, empowerment, and non value‐added time. Originality/value – These middle and lower level managers identified five primary factors that accounted for 56 percent of the variance in their self‐reported levels of workload and control. Three of these factors correspond to existing metrics that have been utilized in lean production in industry.