10 Mistakes Companies Make That Destroy Employee Productivity

Does your company help or hinder employee productivity?

Many workplaces present obstacles, rules, and distractions that keep workers from getting their job done.

Don’t let your company make these mistakes that destroy employee productivity.

High-Performance or High-Effort?

Companies want high-performance teams. They want maximum efficiency and productivity.

Yet, what they say and what they do are often at odds.

Many companies claim they want high-performance teams, yet they do everything in their power to put productivity obstacles in the way of their employees.

Instead of helping employees work smoothly, these companies dampen productivity with unneeded interruptions, red-tape, and interference.

10 Mistakes Companies Make With Employee Productivity

The most efficient companies are the ones that remove the barriers to work getting done. They foster employee productivity by providing a workplace that allows employees to focus on their work.

Is your company aiding worker productivity, or is it guilty of putting obstacles in the way of progress?

Here are 10 Mistakes Companies Make That Destroy Employee Productivity:

1. Rewarding Busyness Instead of Productivity – Too many companies confuse activity with productivity. They reward the people who appear busiest, yet overlook those that are most impactful. Beware if your company rewards sending the most emails or simply the most time put in per day.
2. Not Considering the Work Environment – Companies often overlook how the physical work environment affects their employees ability to work. Is workspace adequate? It is too noisy? Or quiet? Too many interruptions? Some companies try to explain their poor work conditions with excuses like, “It’s temporary” or “We’re a startup.” (You’re not likely to move beyond those stages if your employees can’t get their work done!)
3. Too Many Meetings – In most companies, anybody can call a meeting and waste valuable time and payroll. As well, employees are obligated to show up to every meeting they are “invited” to. Limit meetings to the essential, and better yet, give employees the “Right to Decline” unnecessary meetings.
4. Not Providing Adequate Tools – Employees can’t get their work done without the proper tools. (Or it will take them much longer than necessary.) In today’s age, if you don’t provide adequate tools, your employees will bring their own. So, don’t get upset when they bring their own technology, apps, and more.
5. Not Providing Work/Life Boundaries  – Despite what some companies think, all employees have a life outside of their work. Not drawing adequate boundaries between the two leads to stress, friction, and burnout. Make sure your employees know where their job ends and their life begins.
6. Not Communicating – Insufficient communication causes employees to unnecessarily worry about what is happening. If employees have to hear every announcement via the water-cooler or office gossip then their focus is being interrupted. Keeping employees informed lets them be more productive.
7. Tolerating Bad Bosses – Nothing saps productivity more than a bad boss. Companies without accountability, allow these individuals to destroy company energy and morale.
8. Non-Flexible Schedules – Once upon a time, we all worked 9-to-5. That was mostly due to the fact that we didn’t have the technology to support otherwise. Ensure your company is leveraging technology to give your employees flexibility in when, where, and how they do their work.
9. Skimping on Employee Compensation  – If your employees are concerned that they are not making a fair wage, then their energy is not going to be fully on their work. Companies may save a “quick buck” now, but lose their best and most productive workers in the end.
10. Unclear Goals – Employees can only be productive if they know where the team is heading. Lack of vision and unclear company goals result in wasted effort, disorganization, and inefficiency in the workplace.

Lead and Get Out-of-the-way

Companies need to get out-of-the-way of their most productive employees.

Removing the obstacles to your employees getting work done should be a top priority.

Get out-of-the-way of your employees and they will surprise you with what they can accomplish.

What obstacles to productivity exist in your company?