Impressive Productivity—or Is It Fauxductivity?
By Jessica Burns, October 21, 2024, Express Employment Professionals, Express Blog
Employee productivity, which is fundamental to impacting the business’ bottom line and meeting output quotas, is high, according to hiring managers in the U.S. and Canada.
A recent Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey reveals 95% of U.S. and 92% of Canadian hiring managers say their employees’ productivity is high. And 54% of U.S. and 40% of Canadian hiring managers say their company’s employees are very productive.
Despite the positive report from hiring managers, employees are spending time looking busy with fauxductivity and productivity theater. Productivity theater tasks take up more than 10 hours a week for 43% of U.S. employees and are practiced regardless of working from home, hybrid, or in office, according to a survey by Visier.
Companies Push for Productivity
Hiring managers say social media trends like “Lazy Girl Jobs” and “Bare Minimum Mondays” have a big impact on productivity (31% U.S.; 18% Canada), according to the Express-Harris survey. Companies may be looking to combat these trends and strive to continue increasing employee productivity with these tactics:
- Encouraging small breaks throughout the workday – 49% U.S.; 46% Canada
- Providing mental health resources – 44% U.S.; 42% Canada
- Offering wellness trainings/workshops – 38% U.S.; 34% Canada
Leaders at all levels can support their teams in achieving productivity metrics by optimizing workflows to setting goals and creating professional development opportunities to refine skills. Lay the groundwork for your team’s productivity by:
- Inspiring a desire to achieve common goals
- Communicating expectations for downtime
- Ensuring the team has all they need to succeed from consistent processes to necessary decisions
- Focusing on outputs
- Adapting time allotted for tasks and projects as needed
- Cultivating a culture of trust earned through proven productivity
- Avoiding falling into fauxductivity like 37% of managers
With the impact of employee productivity on workplaces and companies’ bottom lines, fostering a culture of productivity enhances efficiency and long-term success.
