Businesses and organizations thrive through their success and success is created by those who work hard 
within the company to achieve it. But what happens when your workers are no longer being productive? In the present day, businesses are a lot more driven meaning the work can be harder and workers often require more stimulation. Less input and lower efficiency usually affect the business and can be responsible for its sustainability, success and survival. Many employers crack the whip and blame those who don’t seem to be doing enough or who aren’t working to their standards and capabilities, but in truth, they themselves are not always entirely to blame.
Working Environment
The happiness of an employee can have a lot to do with their working environment and the work culture. Are your workplace conditions acceptable? Does everyone get along? It is also important to consider whether or not they have the right facilities and tools they need to work as best they can, such as laptops, computers, the latest applications and software, smart phones, printer, etc. Some may seem like unnecessary expenses but in the long run they could save you even more money if your employees are utilizing them effectively. Keep in mind however that not even computers are fully efficient, so don’t expect humans to be.
It is common that many employees are not necessarily managed or given assistance, but with freedom they must also be trusted and allowed to operate in their own style, using ways in which they believe gets their work done more efficiently and effectively. Giving employers a sense of freedom can often make them very happy and keep them motivated, instead of following management mindlessly. Employees need to think for themselves, to evaluate the consequences of the decisions they make, which can also help them develop life skills and help them to grow as people.
Employer Responsibility
Everyone is accountable for their actions and employees need to be aware of this whilst in the working environment. Actions and decisions cannot be passed over to someone else and it is important for employees to understand that their singular actions can affect the whole team and disrupt the balance. Through understanding this, it could help employees to work more precisely and to avoid taking advantage of their position, environment, or relationship with superiors.
There are ways in which employees themselves can improve their productivity:
- Taking a break. A short break can really help to recharge batteries and provide more energy to complete set tasks.
- Set a timer for tasks. Good with time keeping or not, this can help to organize the workload and create more of a sense of urgency.
- Eliminate all distractions. However, music can sometimes be good in the background to stimulate the brain.
- Love and enjoy what you do. It is important to find some pleasure in the task, as this can get you involved and get it done quicker.
- Complete the worst task first. This gets all of the horrible work out of the way so you can get on with the easier stuff.
- Write out a to-do list. This helps you to organize your workload as well as strategize the order in which you will complete your tasks.
- Organize your office space. A cluttered room equals a cluttered mind.
- Improve typing speed and learn how to speed read.
Communication
Try to improve communication with yourself and your workers or even facilitate some useful discussions/meetings where you can provide feedback, clearly outline your goals and chase up your team with their projects. This may encourage them to get the work done quicker and to a higher standard if you are checking up on them at a regular basis. However be sure to only demand realistic targets, otherwise everyone will be disappointed. Employers often feel as though their job is done once they have set targets, however that is not the case, every target needs to be followed up to check on progress and to bring in salvageable measures if the projects are not on track.
As a leader of the team, you must provide encouragement for your staff and it is vital that you reward them for their hard work as this makes them happy to achieve and it will encourage them to continue with what they were doing. If an employee feels as though their work is unappreciated, they will likely not continue to put as much effort in and they will lose interest fairly quickly. Rewarding workers keeps them happy and makes them feel as though their work is appreciated, motivating them to do more.
Latest posts by Laura Morrissey (see all)
- Encouraging Productivity in the Workplace - May 26, 2015
