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5 Reasons Why Managers Hinder Productivity and How to Fix It

5 Reasons Why Managers Hinder Productivity and How to Fix It
by Steffen Maier

Whether you’re working in HR or as a manager of a team, keeping up productivity levels is essential. However, in an eye opening TEDTalk “Why work doesn’t happen at work” software engineer, Jason Fried, argues that the main barriers to productivity are the people who should be actively trying to improve it: managers.

Here are 5 reasons managers may be hindering productivity and how they can turn things around:

1. Eliminate Excessive Meetings

One of the biggest barriers to workplace productivity is a calendar full of meetings. We’ve all experienced that feeling when you leave a long meeting and your brain feels completely fried. The fact is that meetings, not only take away time, but also deplete your employees’ decision-making and concentration power, making it harder to jump back into their regular tasks. In fact, a survey found that 45% of senior executives believe employees would be more productive if meetings were banned once a week.

While you can’t eliminate meetings altogether, it’s important that managers learn how to run each one effectively by: Carefully considering who should be included, keeping them between 30 to 45 minutes, keeping people on track, sharing an agenda in advance, and creating clear action steps for follow-up.

2. Cut Down Stress

More and more companies are realizing the major impact that workplace stress can have on productivity. Looming deadlines and balancing work/life conflicts can lead to a lack of sleep, low fitness levels and, ultimately, a drastic decline in engagement and productivity. A study by Willis Towers Watson found that, out of respondents who were experiencing high stress levels, 57% claimed to be disengaged. Additionally, highly stressed employees were reported to take an average of 4.6 sick days per year as opposed to low stress employees who took only 2.6 days.

One of the most powerful solutions is to encourage more communication with managers. Every leader should be having regular one-on-ones with each report. This is the perfect time to check in and find out if there is anything causing stress in their employees’ work life or a personal issue which could be impacting their work. Gallup found that only 15% of employees, who do not meet with their manager regularly, are engaged.

Read full article on HR Daily Advisor.