underman
Leave crew short
To underman is to staff with fewer people than needed for proper operation: The night shift was badly undermanned.
The word appears almost exclusively in its past participle form, undermanned, describing ships, factories, hospitals, or any operation running short-handed.
The opposite is overman.
Lacking sufficient staff
- skeleton crewMinimum workers needed
- staffingProviding personnel for positions
- workforceAll available workers
- vacancyUnoccupied space or position
recruit · hire · overworked · stretched thin · personnel · headcount · coverage · shift
Out in open
- defenselessWithout means to resist
- unprotectedWithout safeguard or shield
- weakenedMade less capable
- compromisedMade vulnerable to harm
at risk · precarious · susceptible · endangered · outgunned · outmatched · overpowered · overwhelmed
shorthanded
Lacking sufficient staff
- skeleton crewMinimum workers needed
- staffingProviding personnel for positions
- workforceAll available workers
vacancy · recruit · hire · overworked · stretched thin · personnel · headcount · coverage · shift · roster
exposed
Out in open
- defenselessWithout means to resist
- unprotectedWithout safeguard or shield
- weakenedMade less capable
compromised · at risk · precarious · susceptible · endangered · outgunned · outmatched · overpowered · overwhelmed · besieged
inadequate
Not sufficient for purpose
shortfall · scarcity · dearth · paucity · sparse · limited · meager · minimal · bare · thin
undermanoverman
Mine supervisor; overstaff
overstaff · overpopulate · overload · bulk up