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Workplace Issues That Can Reduce Productivity

Jan 20, 2021 | 1 comment

For most businesses, the single largest expense is the payroll. Employees and contractors are expensive. You can’t live without them, but you need to make sure that you are getting the most out of the time that you are paying for. To do that, don’t focus on the employees, focus on yourself and your business. In what ways are your business practices preventing your workers from giving their all?

Lack of Goals

Humans are hard-wired to desire growth and improvement. When someone feels that they are stuck in a dead-end job where they aren’t accomplishing anything, they will quickly become disinterested. A successful business helps its employees see that they are part of the bigger picture. You can do this by setting and sharing your business goals. Departments and employees should also have their own goals. For the goals to be successful, they need to be set by those working on them, not their managers. For example, the shipping department needs to set their shipping goals, not the next level of management. This will cause the shipping department to take the goal to heart and work harder. There needs to be a purpose for the goal that will benefit the shipping department. There are many perks you can offer like vacation days, bonuses, merchandise, rewards, and so much more.

Toxic Work Environments

Providing opportunities for growth can lead to happier employees. To accomplish this, you need to make sure that you have a healthy work environment. A toxic work environment usually occurs when there is resentment between levels of management and occasionally coworkers. If an entire team dislikes their manager, there won’t be proper communication. If there is a team member that is difficult to work with, this individual will be avoided. Arguments happen more frequently in toxic environments. You’ll also see a much higher turn-over rate. This can quickly cause productivity to go down the drain. To avoid a toxic environment, you should regularly solicit feedback from your employees. This will help them feel heard and prevent toxic behaviors from turning into habits.

Non-adherence to Policies

Every business has workplace policies. Some of those policies are put in place to increase job safety, others are put in place to make sure that productivity is maintained. However, a policy does your business no good if it isn’t followed. It harms your business. If you don’t follow through with the policies that are set, you will lose the respect of your employees. While it may be uncomfortable to enforce a new policy on resistant employees, keep at it. If you decide the policy isn’t effective, rescind it and notify your employees. Don’t leave it and choose to not enforce it.

Following these tips will go a long way to helping your business run efficiently and smoothly. You’ll find that you and your employees are happier. It may take some effort to put these tips into action, but you’ll find that it will all be worth it in the end.