New research from Atlassian indicates that executives are more focused on employee productivity than on bringing them back to the office.
In-Office Mandates Affecting Productivity Trend
In September, the Australian software company surveyed 100 Fortune 500 and 100 Fortune 1000 executives about their main organizational challenges, where 43%, almost half, identified low productivity as their biggest concern. 33% of executives enforcing in-office mandates believed it affected productivity. In contrast, 76% of the surveyed Fortune 500 executives expressed more significant concern about how their teams work rather than where they work.
Executives have expressed concerns about employees getting less work done. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, productivity reached levels not seen in decades. In the first half of 2022, productivity experienced the sharpest decline since 1947. It stayed low until this past summer, when workers' productivity grew by 5.2%, the fastest pace of growth since 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While productivity improves, bosses find it challenging to trust that their employees work effectively without constant in-office supervision, as Atlassian's co-founder and co-CEO Scott Farquhar tells CNBC Make It, "People are still trying to adapt to remote work, and managers, in particular, are still wrestling with that loss of control of having someone sitting right there in front of them."
Decline in Productivity Drivers
Some CEOs attribute decreased output and morale to remote work, claiming that working from home makes it easier for employees to exert less effort. However, research has not definitively concluded whether remote workers are less productive.
In 2022, Microsoft introduced the term "productivity paranoia" to express managers' concerns about whether remote and hybrid employees are putting in enough effort, given the challenge of being unable to visually observe their work by walking down the hall or stopping by their desks.
According to the Atlassian report, executives identified several critical challenges in remote work, with reduced organizational loyalty and challenges in coordinating tasks effectively being the most significant ones.
READ ALSO: 3 Ways To Keep Your Loyal Employees From Becoming Disengaged
Economists and human resource leaders link the drop in productivity to factors ranging from slow economic activity to increased job turnover. According to Gallup, employee disengagement results in a global loss of $8.8 trillion in productivity, equivalent to 9% of the world's GDP. Additionally, workers have historically experienced job stress and dissatisfaction, contributing to increased burnout.
Solving the Productivity Paradox
To address decreasing productivity, Annie Dean, Atlassian's global head of Team Anywhere, suggests shifting the focus away from output and paying more attention to how employees organize their schedules and collaborate.
Providing "Focus Time"
Atlassian conducted numerous experiments with its 10,000-plus employees and discovered that encouraging them to allocate around 30-40% of their week to "focus time," defined as uninterrupted periods for deep thinking work, contributes to increased productivity.
Blocking Off "Open Collaboration"
Furthermore, blocking off regular "open collaboration" time each week to respond to messages, join calls, or connect with teammates has enhanced employees' effectiveness. According to Dean, it's all about reorganizing one's time to be more deliberate about goals and deadlines, saying, "When employees feel like they have enough time to get their most important work done, and the support to do so, it's easier for them to deliver better results."
RELATED ARTICLE: How Curiosity Boosts Creativity and Re-Engages the Workforce
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
