10 Factors Affecting Productivity of Employees

Here I’m going to explore 10 factors that affect the productivity of employees in a workplace. Let’s get started.

Having worked as a manager of a firm for six years that allowed me to search for ideas, information and ways to boost the productivity of my employees in order to achieve the objectives of my business, I have been able to unravel some of the factors that play roles in the underperformance of employees in a workplace.

As a business manager or an employee, knowing the factors affecting employees’ productivity equally knows how to increase productivity, because the individual’s productivity of employees determines the overall productivity of a company. In this, I want to provide insights on the factors that affect the productivity of employees in a workplace or company.

10 Factors Affecting Productivity of Employees

Work Environment

It is not possible for anyone to enjoy working in a negative or unfavorable work environment. A hostile environment is an enemy to productivity in a workplace. The inability to create a healthy work environment where employees feel valued, secured and valued reduces the productivity of those employees.

To boost employees’ productivity, managers must entrench honesty and co-operation, and reward employees whenever necessary. Environment that create co-operation, healthy competition and emphasis among workers must be provided. Environment such as this one helps the employees to develop positive and healthy work attitude, which immensely contribute in empowering workforce.

Workplace Culture

Employee engagement and productivity can be greatly impacted by an organization’s culture and values in addition to the work environment. A toxic workplace culture which encourages disrespect and delay remuneration will not inspire motivation or happiness in any employee.

Since your workers work there to express themselves and give their best efforts, the workplace should be a safe place for them to do so.

Workload

Workers who experience stress and decreased productivity due to an excessive workload may experience overload. In addition, if workers don’t have enough to do, they could get bored and become less productive.

Assign them just enough work so that it will improve their abilities and increase their productivity.

Training and Development

Every employee wishes to grow in their career and enjoy the benefits that such growth brings, so employees feel secured when the company where they work is interested in their professional development and offered the necessary training opportunities for improvement while they work in the company.

If you are a manager and you are yet to develop a training program for your employee, this is the right time to do so. You need it to boost your company’s productivity. A well-trained employee knows what to do and how to do it efficiently, which can positively impact productivity.

Leadership

Leadership is the capacity to influence other people’s actions through inspiration generated by sense of vision produced by passion; it is the ability to know what to be done and how to influence and direct others to achieve a goal(s). Leadership is the vehicle that conveys the actions of employees to achieve the company’s objectives.

Where there is no effective leadership to provide motivation, engagement and support to the employees, the productivity of the employees would be drastically affected. Poor leadership can create a huge gap between the managers and employees, which can lead to mistrust and lack of communication and when this happens, the overall well-being of the company will be terribly affected.

Communication

Employees that have clear understanding of their responsibilities, expectations, and feedback are more productive. This gives managers a better way to keep an eye on their performance and helps employees stay motivated and focused on their work.

Since concerns may be resolved promptly and honestly through direct communication, it also contributes to the development of trust between employers and employees. Additionally, it fosters teamwork, which improves problem-solving and stimulates creativity.

Employees Wellness

This refers to the mental and physical health of employees. It’s natural that the productivity of employee will be drastically affected if they are not physically and mentally healthy. Your staff member will have more energy and be more committed to their work when they are well. They can stay focused and stop putting things off thanks to it.
But, if they’re ill or anxious, they might need to invest more time and effort than usual. As a result, there is a greater chance of staff burnout and postponed deadlines.

Technology and Equipment

This is the era of technological advancement; wherein technological equipment has come to make work more efficient. So, productivity can be impacted by having access to the right tools and equipment, such as computers, software, and internet speed. Should the organization fail to furnish its staff with sufficient equipment, the quality of their work might not meet expectations. Companies that want to increase their employees’ productivity should make available the right technological tools.

Incentives and Rewards

Employees might be encouraged to work harder and be more productive by providing incentives or awards for good performance. Incentives can take many forms, ranging from monetary compensation like bonuses to non-monetary benefits like additional vacation days or even public praise.

Workers who believe their company values their efforts will probably be more driven. Incentive programs can further inspire employees to strive for excellence and boost productivity when paired with other forms of motivation, such as frequent performance reviews and employee feedback.

Personal Factors

Employee productivity can be impacted by life events, stress, exhaustion, and burnout. For instance, workers who are overworked, exhausted, or burned out may find it difficult to concentrate on their tasks and accomplish their objectives.

Furthermore, a life event like the birth of a child or the death of a loved one can interfere with your employee’s capacity to continue being productive. Employers need to be aware of these problems and provide staff members the tools they need to deal. This includes making counseling services accessible and granting flexible work schedules.