One of the most important assets of any business is its employees. It is very common these days for people to work very long hours but “it’s not the number of hours you put into work, it is the amount of work you put in those hours”.
Employees can’t really be expected to work a hundred percent of the time at their jobs, but they should try to put in as much work as possible. There are many ways to increase and improve productivity in your workspace.
Here is a list of some tips for both employers and employees to increase the productivity of the firm. Apply these methods to take your workspace productivity to the next level.
6 Of the Most Effective Ways to Increase Productivity
Organize Your Schedules and Prioritize Tasks
Prioritize Tasks
One of the main reasons time is mismanaged and wasted in the work environment is unorganized schedules. This is a tip that both employers and employees should follow. Creating a to-do list for yourself and prioritizing the tasks allows you to be more productive. Employers should organize job roles as well and assign tasks to employees according to their level of productivity.
Motivate the Employees by Providing Incentives and Bonuses
Providing Incentives and Bonuses
According to recent studies, one of the major reasons employees slacked and procrastinated at work is because they didn’t have any motivation to work harder. Employees need to have the motivation to put extra effort into their jobs, and it is the job of the company and the employers to provide this motivation.
There are many ways to increase the motivation of your employees, but the way that works the best is giving your employees extra incentives for working hard. You should give bonuses to employees who work extra hard.
If you don’t want to give extra money to the employees, then there are many other incentives that you can provide, such as off days and promotions. You should also give regular feedback to your employees and have regular performance reviews to increase the productivity of your employees.
One of the major reasons, people have a hard time working at their jobs is stress. Stress caused by a hectic work routine can significantly decrease the productivity of your employees. Stress can cause many problems like fatigue and insomnia, which makes employees more tired at work.
Stress can also cause many other serious diseases which are bad for the health of your employees and the progress of your company. Both employees and employers should work to eliminate stress from the work environment. For employees, there are many ways that you can use to reduce stress. You can start meditating in the morning as that has been proven by science to be a very effective stress reduction method.
Another amazing way to reduce stress and allow relaxation and rest after work is using cannabis for stress relief. Recently a lot of research has been done into the medicinal benefits of cannabis, and one of the major and most prominent benefits of cannabis is stress relief.
Provide Easy Access to the Proper Equipment
Access to the proper equipment is an integral part of increasing the productivity of the workspace. This is a tip for the employers of a company. Make sure that all employees have access to the required equipment. Having one printer or photocopy machine for a whole floor can cause a lot of time to be wasted. You should provide separate equipment for different departments to increase productivity. The same goes for internet routers. If too many people are connected to the same router, then the internet can get slow and laggy, which can also affect productivity.
Also, provide good quality computers and other equipment to the employees. One of the most important pieces of equipment that contribute to the productivity of the employees is the chairs and desks. Make sure that your employees are comfortable. A comfortable working environment can significantly improve the productivity of the workspace.
Get Rid of Distractions
Distractions
This is another tip that both employers and employees have to work on. Employees should put their phones on silent while they are working and refrain from going on social media and talking to workmates. It will be easier for the employees if they have the proper motivation.
Employees should create some workspace rules prohibiting the use of phones while working. Employers should also block all social media websites on their company networks. But remember not to put too many restrictions on the employees, which can contribute to increased stress in your employees and actually reduce the productivity of the workspace.
Allow employees to take small 5 minute breaks every now and then if they need to check their phones, have a smoke, or have some coffee.
Reduce Procrastination
Reduce Procrastination
According to research, a significant amount of the American workforce procrastinates at work. According to a survey conducted by Salary.com, around 70 percent of employees wasted time at work on a daily basis. This is a very significant number of employees, and it shows how serious the problem is. The survey also asked the participants the reason why they procrastinated at work. 35 percent of workers said they didn’t feel “challenged” enough, 32 percent claimed that they didn’t have the incentive to work harder, and 23 percent of the workers said that they were just “bored.
The main activities that the employees wasted their time on during the work time were talking with co-workers, texting friends, spending time on the internet and social media
A great way to reduce procrastination in the workplace is by improving motivation through incentives and regular feedback and performance reviews. You should also keep rotating the responsibilities of your employees so that they don’t get bored doing the same job all the time and this will also improve the skills of your employees.
About the Author
This article was written by Julie, who regularly shares advice on physical health. A young therapist by trade still practicing her craft, psychoanalyzing people, discussing everyday life induced stress.
