UK businesses are failing to address productivity issues in the workplace, that's according to a report by BrightHR entitled ‘It Pays to Play: Play and Productivity’.
Of those UK businesses surveyed, only 8 per cent of companies regularly monitor productivity levels, with 32 per cent believing it to be less important than monitoring the bottom line. The biggest time wasters, according to employers, are HR administration, office politics and fun and play in the workplace, even though there is significant proof that play at work makes team members more productive and boosts mental wellbeing.
Commenting on the findings, productivity specialist Graham Allcott says: "Many workers feel like the boundaries between work and life are blurring, that they’re required to check email constantly no matter what time of day or night, or that they’re being monitored and micro-managed. So creating a culture of trust, where people can feel engaged to have fun at work and participate in constantly improving productivity has never been more vital."
According to the report, UK productivity has been flatlining for a decade now, that's despite the fact that it should be booming as a result of the exciting ways technology enables businesses to improve productivity – software to automate mundane and repetitive tasks, flexibility to work from home, and the opportunities provided by the information age and global connectedness.
Despite the fact that economists at Moody’s have predicted that Britain’s economy will slow down but should not head into a recession, with the recent concerns that the Brexit vote could hit jobs and wages, businesses need to be more aware of productivity levels in the workplace and look at ways of keeping employees engaged. And with the recent report that public confidence in the British economy recovered in August, with financial expectations over the next 12 months increasing on the Markit household finances index in August to 49.8, up from 47.1 in July (anything below 50 signals deterioration), this too should help to increase staff morale and bring more enthusiasm back into the work place, after a rather uncertain couple of months since the Brexit vote.
At Beavis Morgan, we understand the challenges faced by business owners. We work with many small and medium sized businesses across a wide range of industry sectors, guiding them though the various stages of business life from start up to exit and all the challenges in between. If you would like to know more about how we can help you and your business, please contact Steve Govey or your usual Beavis Morgan Partner.