Hurdles Affecting the Productivity of Businesses

So, your company was also started with brighter dreams aiming at increased productivity? Each time, when you are making rounds on your office, you see your employees typing and researching busy away on their computers without even making a single move. People look super busy with their office works and of course they are. But, with firms which fail to bring enough productivity, where goes the problem? And to me, it is the employees who are primarily responsible for both enhancement and exploitation of their company’s overall productivity.

A recent productivity challenge study from Microsoft Office says that out of 45 hours of work from an employee, 17 hours are considered to be unproductive, which means about 68 hours a month and nearly 850 hours a year (almost 35 days i.e more than a month) are slacked off. So, what is that diverting employees from working? Illustrated below are the various factors which lead to affect the productivity of any sort of organization, and the ways to overcome them.

Internet

Well, the obvious thing! An irresistible charm that takes everyone into its eddy at one point or another. A recent study says almost 77 percent of workers who are in Facebook use it during office hours. Everyone knows how pervasive the problem is as it eats away most of our precious time. Facebook is not the just impact. Employees spend their valuable time in online shopping, checking personal emails and gaming. People are also addicted to YouTube, Twitter and more other porn websites, which keep them away from working in their office hours. This is the reason why more than half reputed organizations have banned social media sites like Facebook from their work place. However, this approach can favor only a few concerns.

For companies which may have to make use of social media networks for the promotion of their products and so and so purposes, this ‘ban’ methodology will never work. Hence, it is quite vital that you set parameters on how much time can be spent on the internet per day. Now, make sure that people are actually following your guidelines. Ensure that the time you allot for spending on the internet is just the time that copes up with the actual office work they have on web. Installing monitoring software on all of the offices computers is a just an ‘okay’ option, as this is something like entering someone’s bedroom. However, if your company is facing worse with productivity, then you would have to consider about fixing this option. Clearly leave a note to your employees saying, ‘I’ll trust you until you give me a reason not to”.

Chilling Out With No Work

Most employees have got the will power to finish his daily tasks in half a day and spend his rest of the time by relaxing away. Though it’s convincing to hear that your productivity is not gonna affected becoz of this, on the other end it clicks away ‘why is this happening’. Has your employee really done his job? Is he really a good and fast worker to overtake his co-workers? Check out!

If it’s true, then make you next move. It’s not that your employee needs to be dumped up with more targets and tasks. He is a real talent and good worker. Keep that in mind. Encourage him with more duties and responsibilities. Offer him a hike in pay, so that he gets motivated in performing his skills. With a raise in pay, your employee will feel heartened by the trust you have in him.

Sleeping

Every employee in today’s mechanical world will face this problem. Sleeping on job cannot be judged as an offence. Most companies in US cities consider nap as a new coffee break. The employees of most successful companies like Time Warner and Ben & Jerry need a nap to energitize themselves to perform their next tasks. A well rested employee has got more potentiality to enhance productivity. Sleeping on the job is consistently becoming more persistent. Employees may be tired and it’s no reason blaming them, if the quality of work they provide is quite convincing. However, will that be truly appealing to see your tired workers nodding of their heads on desks during meeting and conferences?

Sleeping can lead to some awful reflections like sending wrong mails to your customers, mis-typing the wrong data and so and so. If you feel your work environment is fully sleep deprived, offer a chance for your tired employees to squeeze their 20 mins break on cots and couches to rest their brains. Allot a break room or even a couch at the end of a room will work out. However, ensure that your employees do not take advantage over this. Don’t let their 20 mins mini-nap to turn into a 2 hour snoring fest! All you got to look over is whether their targets are achieved or not. Anyway it is up to your satisfaction whether to implement this idea or not. If this isn’t convincing, opt for other activities like conducting meeting at peak sleeping time of your employees (mostly post-lunch).

Fooling and Gossiping Around

Any organization with unisex workers would have to face this activity. Until people of either genders work together, there are possibilities of diversions like falling in love, dating, so and so. Office romances are quite no mattering unless it bothers the productivity factor. Lost work time and long lunches can be few factors to showcase it. Next is the gossiping factor. Forming groups and teams within the company and speaking gossips within one another.

One proper way to protect your company from these love activities is by establishing a office relationship guidelines for your employees. Make sure these guidelines exclusively forecast the relationship element and do not just include the point in your company policies alone. Encourage an environment, where people participate in a common game or event, so that everyone is into a friendly relationship. Groupism and gossiping can be completely removed only by conducting some entertainment activities at least once in a week. Employees who are single and less interactive – ask them to speak up.

Office Events, Employee Day and Sports

Sporting and events are also few crucial diversions faced by the employees from season to season. As an employee of a reputed company, I know how our working mood gets affected when an office day approaches. People spent time in participating on sports, rehearsing on office day events, employee day activities and so on. Though these are quite encouraging factors in any work force, this is not the time always. Sometime or other, employees should come out from the fest mood and stick to their routine works, which most of them fail. Ongoing sports distractions like fantasy leagues for football and baseball are play their roles in diverting employees from work. If sports are what your employees love a lot, afford time for them and conduct sport events for them every weekend, so that both the productivity and their interests are balanced the right way.