Productivity signifies the rate of output per unit of input. It reflects an era where people were seen as elements in a production line, measured by the amount of time it would take them to produce a single item. But in today’s knowledge-based economy, there are many productivity challenges that we are now facing. Yet, it is still essential to ensure that people are spending their time wisely, being efficient, and impacting the workplace no matter the work being done. This post shows some of the most common productivity challenges for today’s workers and how they can address them.
Employee Disengagement
Disengaged employees are probably not the best employees because they don’t have feelings for the company. It is one of the biggest challenges to business productivity. To overcome it, leaders must work to give their employees a sense of belonging if they want to see a legitimate increase in productivity levels. An essential part of belonging is growing a company culture where people create a sense of belonging and are motivated. A greater understanding of purpose will likely result in people being motivated on one level, their work, and their daily lives. By letting them know their work has impacted business results, people get a sense they are part of something meaningful and form a mental and emotional attachment that becomes mutually beneficial for both them and their employer.
Ineffective Performance Management
A study found that half of the workers don’t know what’s expected of them at work. That is a huge problem. If they don’t, they may be led to set the wrong priorities, feel misguided, and ultimately work on the wrong things, which reduces growth in all areas. However, if supervisors help their reports set goals for each work interval, clear expectations can lead to a 5-10% increase in profits. It is likely one of those productivity challenges that is not often thought of. Therefore, managers need to guide their employees by setting goals, aligning them frequently, and creating testing opportunities. It’s not enough for people to realize how they’re doing and what they can improve upon after one year.
Excessive Meetings
Today’s workplace is full of distractions. However, an often overlooked culprit is meetings. There are cases where the entire day consists of sessions in a row, or worse, days where there are short 30-minute intervals between them, which is not enough to get started and enough to feel the productivity moments fade away. If your company’s culture is strong, make sure this filters down to things like the conduct of meetings and its impact on men and women at work. One way to reduce distractions in the office might be not to have discussions on Thursdays, set up quiet spaces in the workplace, or prepare a notice of when a person needs absolute distraction-free focus time.
