Productivity is one of those things that pretty much every boss and office manager want to improve. If your business does not have a productive workforce, you will never be able to take the company as far as you would like it to. But there are so many things that can have an impact on productivity, and many of them are not properly understood. So, here are five things that could have an unexpectedly big impact on productivity.
1. Unrealistic Deadlines
If you’re the kind of boss who likes to demand a lot from your employees, you probably set deadlines. But if you choose deadlines that are not realistic, you could hamper productivity levels in a couple of different ways. For a start, you might find that those deadlines are so unrealistic that people switch off and stop even trying to hit them. And it might also increase stress, which later drains the productivity levels of your employees. So, make sure you only set achievable deadlines.
2. Your Employees’ Contracts
Each of your employees should have a contract, but what kind of contract do they have? Many studies have shown that job insecurity is one of the biggest factors that contributes to poor productivity. If you only give your employees short or informal contracts, they might constantly be worrying about whether they will be working for the company for much longer. If they don’t feel tied to the company, why would your employees be motivated to work harder and do more?
3. The Temperature and Humidity
Sometimes, it’s something as simple as this that has the biggest impact on your business’s ability to keep people productive. When the office is too hot or too humid, or even too cold, it can have a big impact on how productive your employees are. This is one of those things that’s so easy to fix too, so don’t let it become a problem. You can install a new air conditioning system or fix the heating if you want to avoid these kinds of problems in the future.
4. The Cleanliness of Your Office
Everyone wants to work in an office that’s tidy, neat and clean. If people feel like the office is slowly becoming dirty and chaotic, it can have a genuine impact on how productive they are. This really is a big issue, so you need to make sure that you think carefully about it. There are plenty of companies out there offering office cleaning services that you can make the most of. Don’t pass up the chance to get clean and boost productivity.
5. Regular Breaks
This is one of those counterintuitive things that you probably think sounds crazy. If people are taking more breaks, how are they going to become more productive? Well, when people work hard and have a break, they can come back from that break refreshed and willing to get back to work. So, it’s definitely worth making sure that your employees have regular breaks throughout the day.
