Will Worker Productivity Ever Return?
Will Worker Productivity Ever Return?
Prayerfully, we are on the tail end of the CoVid Pandemic. Yes, I know there has been a resurgence in some areas and it is still an issue but again, prayerfully we are on the tail end. Looking at what CoVid did to our workforce is proving to be one of the most challenging things we may face for years to come.
We all can agree that the pandemic did a number on most all business models and for most of us we have had virtually every aspect of our life reshaped. We have seen a virtual world evolve and become common place.
There was a point when just about every career had remote workers. Leaders had to learn to trust their employees that were working from home. They had to trust that they would be at their desk’s the entire time, chained to a heavy ball so they couldn’t move, with their camera on so the supervisor could document they saw them working. I mean after all, work from home, gosh forbid you do anything else right?
I had a banker friend of mine ask my opinion on a situation he had. He said he called for one of his workers and they didn’t answer the phone right away. Within a few minutes they called back, and he questioned where they were. The worker said they were putting laundry in the dryer. This made my friend mad. He said he couldn’t believe they were doing housework and not working. Now, I don’t know about you, but I laughed at this. I asked, “Are their tasks getting done?” He replied yes. Then I said, “they called you right back right?” He responded yes, within a few minutes. I then asked, “When they worked in the office did, they ever leave their desk and speak with other employees or you about things that were not work related?” Again, his answer was yes. So, then I asked, “then what’s the problem?” To which he had no answer.
You see, as a leader, we need to trust our employees. In this case, the worker was doing their job, responded in a timely manner, showed patterns of NOT DOING WORK STUFF AT WORK when they were in person, so this really boiled down to a leader who perceived they were being taken advantage of.
Now that more and more people are getting back to work, (and even if you are still working from home) what can we do to re-kindle our productivity?
Here are a few things we can do to help us get back on track and stay there.
Stop the pie in the sky goals of getting everything done in one day. If you put 25 tasks down to accomplish and you only do 12 you will feel defeated. BE REALISTIC.
Sleep may not always be your friend. Sometimes getting up 30 minutes to an hour earlier does wonders for what you can accomplish in a day.
Write it down. Yes, having a “To Do” list is something we should have. As you cross off a task you will feel a sense of accomplishment and you will know what to do next.
Learn to say NO. Now I am not saying be a grump but rather, let your co-workers, your family, or your dog know that you have set aside a certain amount of time to get these specific tasks done and to not interrupt you. (Unless something is on fire, or someone is bleeding as my mama always said)
Set a specific time to return phone calls and emails each day. The world will not end if you don’t call someone back the moment, they leave a message. I mean, how many times have you cut a call short to return a call right away and all they wanted to do was shoot the breeze?
At the end of the day rejoice over what you have accomplished. Congratulate yourself on the increase of productivity.
If you need help designing a plan of action for this let me know. You can always add Call Jeff to your daily tasks.
Blessings,
Jeff
Photo by Andreas Klassen on Unsplash