Top 4 Factors Affecting Productivity Within Modern Workspaces.

The modern workplace is renowned for being fast-paced, uber-competitive, and highly stressful. Workers around the globe are doing all they can to ensure that their company succeeds in the dog-eat-dog world of 21st-century business.

This week’s article is written by the wonderful Katie Brenneman. Thank you Katie for writing this for me.

However, many employees find that the stress and strain of modern workplaces undermine their performance and lead to burnout. This can derail productivity as employees have to take time off to improve their mental health.

Similarly, time mismanagement and social media misuse threaten to derail employee productivity. This may be why office-bound employees are only productive for an average of two hours per day.

Business leaders who want to promote a more productive workplace can do so by adopting a hybrid work model, investing in mental health services, and funding self-help initiatives at work.

Mental Health

Poor employee mental health costs businesses $48 billion annually in the US alone. Workers who suffer from excessive stress, burnout, and work-related anxiety are far more likely to take time off, switch roles, and experience decreased productivity. For this reason, addressing mental health concerns should be a priority for businesses across the nation.

Employers can promote better mental health at work by normalising conversations about well-being. Talking about burnout, depression, or anxiety can help beat the stigma associated with these mental health concerns and break negative thought patterns.

However, before opening up for conversations about mental health, business leaders need to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate difficult conversations.

Managers can open mental-health-related dialogue by educating themselves about the common conditions that staff may face. Managers and leaders need to understand how conditions like anxiety and depression affect the staff and should be prepared to help staff who are stressed and overwhelmed.

Some businesses may even need to accept a temporary drop in productivity to address common issues like burnout. Giving staff the time they need to recover in a post-pandemic world is essential to the long-term success and productivity of modern workplaces.

Social Media

Social media can be a powerful tool in any employee’s productivity toolkit. Social media ensures that staff are aware of current trends and can help workers network with important contacts in their industry.

Workers who want to maximise the productivity-boosting benefits of social media should stick to sites that foster collaboration and professional networking. Top social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter can help B2B lead generation and bolster an employee’s ability to network remotely.

However, some social sites can derail productivity in the workplace. TikTok and Instagram are great for short-form entertainment but fun video-based content will undermine focus amongst staff. Similarly, Snapchat is a notorious productivity killer as bite-sized video content can draw employees’ attention away from their work.

Rather than banning all social media on-site, business leaders need to promote self-accountability at work. Many staff only reach for their phones out of habit and will be happy to “switch off” provided they are given adequate support. Employers can minimise social distractions by providing meditation rooms, book clubs, and green spaces for employees who just need to break up the monotony of their day job.

Flexibility

The rise of remote work can help employees strike a better work-life balance. Without a lengthy commute, staff have far more free time to engage in community events, spend time with their families, and take care of their health and well-being.

Employees who can work from home are around 13% more productive, too. With fewer office-based distractions, employees can get their heads down and focus on the task at hand. However, businesses that are open to remote work still need to support staff who choose to work from the comfort of their home office. In particular, remote-hybrid businesses should consider funding:

• Relocation packages so staff can move to homes with room for a home office;
• Remote work training days so staff understand how to better manage their time;
• Home office supplies like desks, organisers, PCs, and high-speed internet to help their employees stay on staff.

It’s worth noting that some staff work best away from home. Remote businesses can support these employees by funding co-working spaces in place of home-office upgrades. This ensures that every employee has the training, tools, and tech they need to be productive wherever they work.

Training, Tools, and Tech

The modern workplace is a rapidly evolving environment. Businesses need to support employees during this time of digital transformation by providing the training, tools, and technology they need to be successful.

Start by ensuring that each team member has access to the communication tech they need. Remote messaging applications like Slack and Microsoft Teams are integral to the modern workplace and ensure that everyone has access to the documents and resources they need.

Modern workplaces can get ahead of competitors by investing in universal operating software that is compatible across a range of software and hardware. Most businesses opt for Windows operating systems, but modern workspaces should consider experimenting with systems like IOS, Debian, and Oracle Linux.

Conclusion

Day-to-day productivity can make or break a business. Businesses that care about employee efficiency can foster healthier, more supportive workspaces by funding co-working spaces, offering remote work, and promoting self-accountability across the company.

Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specialising in lifestyle, mental health, education, and fitness-related content. When she isn’t writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter.

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