Are There Limits to Workplace Productivity?
Businesses run on producing goods and services. Without output, there can be no revenue. And theoretically, the greater the output, the greater the revenue potential.
All of this, of course, relies on people. Even technologically advanced workplaces require humans to operate, code and program.
The challenge, however, is that as humans, we have a maximum level of output. There are only so many hours in the day, so many days in the week. And then we're also limited by the tools and processes that surround us.
So, is there a way for managers and employers to quantify a person's maximum productivity level? And, perhaps more important, how can managers help employees achieve their highest level of productivity?
There Are Only So Many Hours in the Modern Workday
The 40-hour workweek is a relatively new concept, dating back to 1940 when it first became law in the United States. Henry Ford is often credited as the father of the modern workweek, after having discovered that if employees worked longer hours, the productivity ratio would actually decline.
A number of books have been written since then about how to shorten that workweek even more — including down to four hours, according to the popular book by Timothy Ferriss. But even with the technology we have available today, very few people have managed to cut their workweek significantly — at least not by that large of a margin.
"It's reasonable to expect workers to put in a 40-hour work week, where the majority of those hours are actually spent working," said Alexis Haselberger, owner and time-management and productivity coach at Alexis Haselberger Coaching and Consulting.
The disconnect, Haselberger said, is when managers expect employees to work or be available to work during typical downtimes like evenings or weekends. Employees should not be available every moment of the day, she said, no matter if the technology allows it or not.
Shaara Roman, founder and CEO of consultancy The Silverene Group, said it's indeed fair to expect an employee to put in 40 hours a week if they are in a full-time role, but she agrees they should not be marked down because they can't fit in more work.
Not only is overtime work on a regular basis detrimental for the employee and the employee's experience with the company, it doesn't benefit the company either, as Ford had proclaimed. Haselberger said numerous studies show that working longer than 50 hours in one week leads to diminished returns.
Therefore, getting employees to work for extended periods doesn't often offer much benefits. She says companies that require more work out of employees should consider bringing in more individuals rather than pushing for more hours from existing employees.
Related Article: The Speed of Work Today: More, Faster, Now
Productivity Tracking Is Not Helping
The last few years have resulted in an overreliance on technology for monitoring employees and managing the flow of work, with little thought given to the potential repercussions. And the remote workplace has exacerbated this reality.
A 2022 article by Harvard Business School suggests that companies using productivity monitoring tools in fact harm employees' relationship with the company and, consequently, their productivity. Not only does the process of monitoring employees demoralize them, the authors of the article said, but it also skips over many activities that may help drive productivity but are not "trackable" such as talking with colleagues or reading a how-to book.
According to Haselberger, most companies don't fully understand what is and isn't productive, which makes the idea of a productivity-tracking software difficult to implement. Unfortunately, she said, too many managers are stuck in a mentality that you have to be sitting at your desks to be productive.
This, she said, overlooks scenarios where ideas are brainstormed, knowledge is acquired and discussions brew among colleagues away from the desk. It's, after all, the whole premise of return-to-the-office advocates: water cooler business moments can be pretty significant. Yet, software cannot track that.
Related Article: Is Responsible Employee Surveillance Possible?
Outdated Assumptions
Big players in business tend to get the bulk of the media coverage, and Roman believes that some of those prominent business leaders are popularizing outdated beliefs.
Learning Opportunities
One example is Elon Musk, who Roman calls out of touch with the modern world of work. Musk's insistence on over 50-hour weeks and no remote work is harming the business. Case in point: Musk recently had to walk back some of that stance.
Roman says for employees and companies to thrive, collaboration is a must. Both employees and employers must negotiate to get the best for the company. The employment value proposition (EVP) needs to be attractive to both parties, and the hours are an important aspect of this EVP, she said.
Unless businesses take stock of what their workers need, Roman believes that burnout, depression and anxiety in the workforce will only worsen — and productivity will drop as a result. It's not the remote work or the in-office work that make or break output, it's the demand placed on employees without listening to their wants and needs.
Related Article: How to Optimize Your Work Week
Too Many Projects, Too Little Pay
Even when the work conditions are right, productivity can suffer. One reason for that, Roman said, is that businesses tend to have too many projects going on at the same time, and employees struggle to juggle so many responsibilities in their limited time.
Prioritizing projects, establishing realistic timelines, providing the right resources, all of those are important to ensure the workload is sustainable. Giving employees sufficient time to rest, to regroup is also important to having motivated and clear-minded employees.
Then there's the issue of pay. While wages are on the rise in the United States, Pavel Bahu, global HR director at Trevolution Group said setting the right compensation and incentive model is important to driving the right kind of productivity.
Beyond a base salary, employers need to understand the added value chain, Bahu said. In which area can employees add value to the business? This, he said, will vary for product or service businesses.
For example, for service businesses, the idea may be to increase the brand value by providing more personalized experiences for customers, who, in turn, tend to spend more or return more often. In such a case, an employee's productivity target may not be the number of new client sign-ups but rather the spend amount, repeat business or satisfaction rating.
Regardless of what the metrics are, they must align to where the employee can drive the most value. Managers need to know precisely what they seek from their employees, and employees need to know what is expected of them. Only then can there be a dialogue about whether or not the workload is reasonable, the task is doable and the pay is adequate.
Related Podcast: Christina Maslach on What Organizations Can Do About Burnout
About the Author
Kaya Ismail is a business software journalist and commentator with years of experience in the CMS industry.
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