6 Factors Affecting Productivity & Engagement In The Workplace

Did you know that 85% of employees [1] worldwide don't feel engaged at work? Many times, this says more about the employer than the employee. In today's article, we're going to explore why that is, as we go through several crucial factors that affect workplace productivity and engagement.

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What Is Employee Productivity?

Employee productivity refers to the economic performance that compares the number of goods and services produced (OUTPUT) to the amount of work (INPUT) used to produce the goods and services. Productivity depends on many factors. Here are several factors that play a significant role in employee productivity and, in turn, business results.

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Factors That Affect Productivity

There are many barriers to productivity in the workplace. We’ve highlighted some of the most common organizational barriers to productivity.

1. Work Environment

As you can imagine, no one enjoys working in a negative or toxic environment. Make sure to create a workplace atmosphere that is based on your company's values, where your employees feel supported, valued, and safe.

Put honesty and co-operation first, remember to reward your employees when they deserve it. Give your employees access to the right environment where they can cooperate, compete, and emphasize with their co-workers. This type of environment helps your employees develop healthy work habits, which contributes to creating a productive workforce.

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2. Training & Career Development Opportunities

Every employee wants to grow in their career, so it's essential that they feel like their employer is invested in their professional development and provides them with the relevant training opportunities throughout their journey in the company.

If you don't have a training program yet, it might be time for you to develop one. An untrained employee would not know what they need to do or how to do it more efficiently, which can negatively affect productivity.

One good way of facilitating training programs is through microlearning. This human resources tool gives your new employees the information they need and the knowledge they need to thrive in the office.

Plus, make sure each team member has a chance to grow within the company hierarchy, and won't end up feeling stuck in the same position for too long.

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3. Processes

From recruiting to onboarding, compensation, performance management, task delegation and more: establishing processes for your company will allow you to provide your employees with positive experiences from the get-go.

Developing these processes can be time-consuming and it is very much a matter of trial and error. However, once you have them, you'll be a lot more organized and efficient - and so will the rest of the team.

Companies with high productivity levels build processes for most of their recurring tasks and projects.

For example, many organizations often overlook employee surveys. This can lead to workers feeling neglected and unseen, which can negatively affect employee productivity. However, implementing a project management tool can help your HR managers facilitate job satisfaction surveys easily.

Another example is employee offboarding. When a worker leaves, many managers often forget to revoke the worker's platform access, which can lead to data privacy issues. With an employee and project management tool, your HR personnel can easily remove the outgoing employee's ability to access confidential information and company tools with a few clicks. This makes it easier for your HR department to offboard an employee, as well as increase employee's productivity as it allows them to focus their time on another particular task.

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4. Pay Structure

Your employees have bills to pay, children to take care of, and goals to accomplish, and the monetary benefits are obviously one of the reasons why they took a job in your company.

Use this as a motivational tool, by explaining clearly and transparently how your pay structure works and what you consider when deciding if an employee deserves a promotion and raise.

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5. Employee Wellness

Employee wellness has become a popular topic over the past few years, and it refers to the physical and mental health of your team members.

As an employer, you want to provide your employees with all the tools and resources they might need whenever they don't feel their best, as doing so will show them that you care and also prevent small problems from developing into something more serious.

Creating a wellness program, offering healthy food options at the office cafeteria, and encouraging your workers to put their welfare first help create a healthy and happy employee and could greatly boost employee productivity.

Another way your company can have a positive impact on employees productivity levels is by encouraging workers to lead a healthier lifestyle. This can be done by giving them access to physical activities that encourage them to get off their seats and move.  You can also propose them to have a "walk to work" day or give them more storage spaces to store their office equipment.

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6. Diversity

Multi-culture is now more important than ever and it has certainly become an important factor when it comes to employee engagement.

Having diversity in your workplace is one key factor in increasing employee productivity and benefitting your company's success. Recruiting representatives with distinctive qualities, religions, cultures and customs gives your employees a sense of belonging in their working environment.

Another advantage of having workplace diversity is that it gives employees an opportunity to learn and understand others' perspectives. This plays a vital role in ensuring strong team dynamics.

Make sure you give everyone equal opportunities, no matter what their culture, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality are, and that will reflect on your employee satisfaction and productivity. Plus, with such a varied pool of talent within your company, you'll have access to a wider range of skills, which can lead your profits to increase significantly.

Do note that diversity in the workplace is not only limited to companies that work in a physical location. Having diverse team members can also greatly affect productivity and job satisfaction in remote teams.

Giving your stressed employees the chance to take a quick breather is vital in combatting low productivity. Remember, a happy and healthy employee is more likely to have enough physical and mental resources to achieve their desired outcomes.

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7. Technology And Production Factors

Technology has become an integral part of a modern working environment. Companies that utilize modern technology tend to be more profitable as it helps support employees in their tasks, especially when the job involved technical factors.

For example, installing an AI-fueled business telephone framework allows your employees to have smooth business interchanges between different departments. It also eliminates the need for them to go back and forth over one topic, giving them the opportunity of managing time wisely and focus on completing other tasks.

Companies that refuse to utilize modern technology risk employee burnout, which would greatly affect productivity.

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8. Tools

Giving your employees the correct tools directly impact productivity in the workplace. Untrained employees could delay the work and mismanage resources, which could cost the company. Poor management techniques and a lack of access to important tools lead to employee disengagement, which can decrease individual production performance, efficiency levels, and overall productivity in the work environment.

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9. Workplace Ergonomics

Apart from organizational factor, there are also other factors in the work environment that can decrease or increase productivity. While these aren't included in the main factors, it still affects individual productivity.

Factors that may lead to low productivity include:

• Temperature at the workplace
• Air quality
• Poor Lighting
• Hydration
• Office Space Layout and Design

The Cost Of Disengaged Employees

A company where multiple employees don't feel engaged, involved, and productive is a company where there's something missing. Something so crucial that it ends up having a major impact on the team's motivation and, ultimately, on the business's finances - a disengaged employee can cost a company nearly US$16,000 [2] per year!

Knowing this, it becomes clear why it is pivotal for employers to understand what exactly affects employee engagement and, more importantly, what they can do to decrease absenteeism and their employee turnover rate while boosting productivity, dedication, and motivation.

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In Conclusion

Employee productivity plays a large part in ensuring your business' success. Your workers are the life blood of your company, so it makes sense to spend time and money investing in various components that help increase your employees' productivity.

Without a strong, productive team that feels engaged every single day they walk into the office, your company wouldn't be able to go far, and reaching all your established goals would be a lot harder. As such, it is your responsibility, either as a business owner or HR professional, to make sure your employees feel engaged and have everything they need to produce the best results they possibly can.

Don't worry, you don't have to do so alone. With Qualee by your side, you'll be able to guarantee a high level of employee engagement from onboarding all the way to offboarding, using unique features such as quizzes, surveys, anonymous real-time messaging, and more. Try our Starter Plan today!‍

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You might be interested in the following resources:
Calculate onboarding ROI using our Onboarding Cost Calculator
‍Learn about How a Structured Onboarding Process Improves Productivity and Efficiency
‍Look at How Employee Engagement Improves the Bottom Line
Learn Why It's Outdated to Favor Presenteeism over Productivity
Our Recommended What is the Impact of Employee Engagement on Productivity?

[1] http://news.gallup.com/reports/220313/state-global-workplace-2017.aspx?

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlynborysenko/2019/05/02/how-much-are-your-disengaged-employees-costing-you/?sh=15a6cb6d3437