3 Things That Kill Worker Productivity

Productivity is everything in business, that’s why I wrote the Ultimate Guide To Productivity. You need to be making the most of your time, workers and resources to be creating the biggest profits- so when productivity subsides, you lose money. Here are three things that kill workers’ productivity in the workplace- if you have any of these issues then be sure to put them right immediately.

Outdated equipment and software

There’s nothing that can ruin the flow of activity quicker than poor technology or equipment stopping you in your tracks. Whether it’s outdated software that crashes, printers that jam or computers that crash and lose information, these things can seriously affect your entire business. You need to spend money to make money, invest in new hardware and software so that your staff can do their jobs properly. If you don’t have an IT department in place yet, consider outsourcing to a professional company or look into strategic IT staffing to fill your vacancies. 

An unappealing office

Is your office drab, old fashioned or disorganised? Is it dark and dingy? If so, you could be massively affecting the mood of your workers. At the end of the day they’re people and not robots, a poor working environment isn’t going to make them feel motivated and ready to work hard. A few simple changes can make all the difference, give the walls a fresh coat of paint, have the carpet professionally cleaned or replaced. Change the layout around, if you move desks closer to windows your workers will benefit from mood-boosting natural light. The colour blue and living plants have both been shown by psychologists to improve productivity in the workplace so these could be worth including. 

Unfair rates of pay

As an employer it’s your legal requirement to pay your staff at least minimum wage, but of course you shouldn’t be paying minimum wage to experienced workers. If you do, you’ll simply get minimum effort and they’ll leave your company to work elsewhere the first chance they get. As well as fair pay based on experience and skill level, it’s a good idea to provide staff with good employee benefits which make them want to stick around- things like health, disability and dental insurance are all examples. It should be a mutually beneficial agreement between you and your employees, they’re providing you with their time and hard work and in return you’re paying them and giving them stability. And a decent wage and stability will make them want to work harder for your business and also stick around meaning you have a lower staff turnover rate.

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