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7 Causes Of Unproductivity Among Employees And How To Solve Them

Emmanuel Nnaemeka
    Having an unproductive workforce can be a nightmare for any business owner. However, when employees are productive, it guarantees business growth and long-term success, which is the dream of every business owner.
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In this article, I point out eight reasons why employees are not productive in the workplace.  When resources are in lack or not sufficient, it can affect the productivity of any worker. Micromanagement takes various forms. It could shortage of time, insufficient wage, shortage of personnel, and supplies needed to accomplish given tasks. When an employee lacks one or more of these resources, he will be unproductive. Solution: The business owner can solve this problem by ensuring that resources (material and immaterial) are sufficient for the employee to perform given tasks. Ensure that there is an avenue for reporting and filing complaints by the employee when resources are insufficient rather than working with few resources. When company culture is not warm and inspiring, the productivity of any worker can be affected negatively. In a case where an employee feels unwelcomed or uneasy and uncomfortable in the workplace, productivity declines drastically. Also, in a situation where a company is known for hostility among workers, productivity drops and it can affect one’s level of concentration and cloud his sense of motivation within the company. Solution: CEOs and senior executives need to get rid of the toxicity in their workplace and make workplaces warm and welcoming to new and old employees by implementing policies and business models that encourage all. When one is not skilled enough to handle a task it can lead to mental fatigue and tiredness. This affects productivity greatly. This is factual because, when tasks seem overwhelming and difficult on the account of poor skills, the worker will not be productive. For example, there are cases where employees are assigned roles that are not their primary competence.
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Also, insufficient skills in the workplace and their negative effect can manifest when an employee may also be poorly prepared for a promotion or new role. Solution: This performance problem can be solved by training, retraining, and provision of mentorship for employees. When bottlenecks and red tapes are all over the place in the company it can hinder independent thinking and initiative. For instance, there could be obstacles in which employers are slow to address certain workplace issues, coworkers in other departments are not collaborative enough, or clients are not responding to agreements reached. This can affect productivity. Solution: Company leadership must be in place playbooks that direct employees on what to do in case of emergencies or critical situations. Also, employers can step in to help maneuver the situation. When workers are working without an objective or purpose, it leads to frustration in the long run. In addition, if there are no well-defined expectations for an employee for a given project, or if the employee is misinformed or uninformed of what is expected of him, it can lead to poor performance. Solution: To resolve this issue, the employer must inform the employee of well-defined roles, objectives, and duties that are expected of him to eliminate any confusion or miscommunication. In the absence of discipline, laziness in the workforce tends to increase. Studies have shown that the lack of disciplinary culture has been responsible for unproductivity and a decline in growth.
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Therefore, if a company lacks disciplinary ethics, poor performance in the workplace is inevitable. If discipline is lacking in a workspace, some employees may treat their responsibilities with laxity and a carefree attitude, believing they can get away with it. Solution: In organizational studies, the application of disciplinary measures is known as the “stick” approach. Adopting the “stick” is recommended if you want to see productive results among employees. However, discretion is advised on the part of the employer, and all investigations of poor performance must have been made before applying the baton approach. When the rewarding system is poor, employees can become unmotivated. According to LinkedIn studies of 2020, statistics show that a poor rewarding system is responsible for poor performance among employees, despite a commitment to business growth. This is so true because when there is no rewarding system, employees easily slack off, and when their efforts are underappreciated, it leads to poor performance. Solution: A good rewarding system is a catalyst for high performance among employees. In organizational studies, it is called the “carrot” approach. Featured Image Source: Freepik
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