The environment individuals work in and the policies their employers implement both have significant impact on productivity.
International experts say there is empirical and anecdotal evidence of this, pointing to examples in large and small enterprises.
The work environment, specifically an assessment of “the extent to which the company’s environment and policies are conducive to productivity”, is one of the key areas Caribbean Catalyst Inc. is now focusing on as it surveys the 30 companies participating in Barbados’ Best Employers (BBE) 2014.
The Barbados Productivity Council said measuring productivity was important because it “tells where to look for opportunities to improve performances and shows how improvement efforts are doing”.
“It provides check points for diagnostic activities or it indicates how well the goals of an organisation are being achieved. It also provides a source for economic growth to facilitate an improved standard of living. In addition, it reflects the competitiveness of an organisation,” it explained.
In terms of how this relates to the work environment and employer policies, there is some international literature which examines this topic, including a June 2012 one on the topic The Influence Of Workplace Environment On Workers’ Welfare, Performance And Productivity.
Written by Emmanuel Majekodunmi Ajala of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, the report said: “The environment is man’s immediate surrounding which he manipulates for his existence. Wrongful manipulation introduces hazards that make the environments unsafe and impede the productivity rate of the worker.
“Therefore, the workplace entails an environment in which the worker performs his work while an effective workplace is an environment where results can be achieved as expected by management. Physical environment affects how employees in an organisation interact, perform tasks, and are led. Physical environment as an aspect of the work environment has directly affected the human sense and subtly changed interpersonal interactions and thus productivity.”
The report said this was so “because the characteristics of a room or a place of meeting for a group have consequences regarding productivity and satisfaction level”.
“The workplace environment is the most critical factor in keeping an employee satisfied in today’s business world. Today’s workplace is different, diverse, and constantly changing. The typical employer/employee relationship of old has been turned upside down,” it added.
“Workers are living in a growing economy and have almost limitless job opportunities. This combination of factors has created an environment where the business needs its employees more than the employees need the business.”
Another study released by the International Labour Organisation also touched on the issue, noting that there was in fact a link between a good working environment and productivity.
It said health and safety measures “have an influence both on safety and health performances and on the productivity of companies”.
“On the other hand, it was discovered that poor [occupational safety and health] performance can lead to a competitive disadvantage impairing the firm’s status
among stakeholders . . . . A successful policy at company level will have positive effects on the level of individual workers as well as on their families, on their social networks and on the whole of society,” the ILO document said.
John Spence, the American professional motivational speaker who will deliver the keynote address at this year’s BBE awards event, believes such factors play a key role in ensuring employees are engaged. (SC)