Productivity is the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services- (dictionary.com). And unfortunately, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics productivity in the workplace is declining and has been for many years, with no clear solution. You can finger point and blame a group, a department, or even specific individuals, but the truth is productivity in the workplace is declining and management has very few solutions to the problem.
For more about this and other topics, follow the links below.
Workplace productivity declines: Blame millennials (employers agree)
A report by the Dallas Fed was released this morning, showing a significant decline in factory activity during the month of May. With this decline came serious concerns about an increase in labor costs coupled with a lack of productivity from workers.
Akin Oyedele of the Business Insider reported that “most other regional manufacturing indexes, including those from New York, Richmond and Chicago showed that the sector’s rebound is taking longer than anticipated.”
It is alarming to find that Dallas is not the only city to be facing manufacturing decline. “Like Dallas, there was also renewed slowdown in Chicago after a few months of recovery,” said Oyedele.People expressed concerns towards the Department of Labor’s recent changes in salary, with an overtime increase of $47,476 from $23,660 spiking business costs. The overtime salary complaint was heightened by frustrations that workers were not using their time productively, with specific complaints directed towards the younger employees.
Chika Uwazie: How to Increase Workplace Productivity
Wow, it’s another week and instead of seeing happy motivated employees eager to get back to work after the weekend; you see a zombie like crowd just shuffling their way through the doors and into their cubicles. They come to work emotionless, far from motivated and definitely not eager to get back to work. Some even go as far as wearing a T-Shirt that says “I Hate Mondays” (We get it!)
Now, many Nigerian employers do not see that these are the signs of an unmotivated workforce. In case you didn’t know, an unmotivated workforce is an unproductive workforce and an unproductive workforce is the number one killer of business success (we do not want that do we?).
Is Coffee Really Toxic to Workplace Productivity?
Coffee is the staple requirement for any good programmer, and it’s a great way to build your network. But the real cost of those coffees is higher than the price at the till.
In the Observer, writer Isaac Morehouse made a provocative proposition: the habit of grabbing coffee with colleagues or partners “just to chat” is killing our productivity.
“Let’s grab coffee and chat.”
According to Isaac Morehouse, those five words can be damning. Morehouse’s opinion is that when you become known for doing interesting things, like starting a business or writing intriguing articles, lots of people want to have coffee with you. Most of the time, he says, it’s a bad idea.
Morehouse continues:
“Face to face meetings can be valuable. There’s an energy that you don’t get any other way. But the cost is very high, and it’s rare to gain that energy with a stranger. Unless you know from interactions over email, social media, or phone that you and this person have mutual interests and will both be spurred to beneficial action by a coffee meeting, avoid it.”
