The primary aim of the research is to find out how the different factors at the workplace have an impact on the performance of employees and significantly influence their productivity at the organization. The workplace factors play a crucial role in improving the performance of the employees within an organization. The last decades have brought to the limelight how the social environment at workplace, information technology along with flexible ways have drastically changed the way work is carried out and influenced the productivity at the workplace (Katzenbach and Smith 2015). It is found that if the employees have the desire to work then it has an effect on their quality of work and the performance outcome will be increased naturally. A workplace environment that is proper can cause reduction in the number of employees remaining absent thus contributing to the improvement of performance and paving the path for increased worker productivity (De Been and Beijer 2014).
Key words : Workplace factors, worker productivity, job satisfaction
Workforce productivity is indicative of the goods along with services which is produced by a worker within a given time frame. It is often referred to as labour productivity and it acts as a measure for an organization. Kim and Choi (2017), has commented that the concept of workforce productivity differs from that of employee productivity because employee productivity is measured at the level of the individual and it is based on the assumption that overall productivity can further be broken down to small units to that of the individual employee contributing to the workforce. Workforce productivity can be defined as the ratio of measure of output to that of the volume of the measure of the input. According to Scott and Davis (2015), workforce productivity is of vital importance for the success of an organization and the workers who are not utilizing time and resources in the effective manner is costing the company a lot of money. Productivity of the workers starts declining when the people at the organization are working for a long duration of time without getting any sufficient time for relaxation. The goal for assessing the productivity can help in encouraging people how to utilize their time and resources in the effective manner.
Systems like that of digital file transfer services can help in accelerating data transfer and improve communication while at the same time reducing the costs. E-mail can be used very conveniently in modern times to transfer data and message to that of the supplier along with clients at the simple click of a button. Information is a valuable commodity in the business world of today. According to Shakeabubakor, Sundararajan and Hamdan (2015), reduction of the implied cost helps in making the information to be more accessible. Real challenge lies in the arena of processing of this information in a manner that is organized that operates on the basis of relevancy. Database software is a technological tool that can be used to improve in gaining control of the supply chain and database solutions are of crucial importance for the modus operandi of a company (Lim et al. 2013). Customer Relationship Management can be benefited by the successful use of technology. Mc Kinsey Quarterly Report has suggested that technology being used effectively for customer relationship management possesses the greatest potential in the area of return on investment (Wallace and Sheetz 2014).
Workers with a sense of empowerment have a higher morale which in turn leads to better productivity. According to Johannsdottir and Hansen (2017), empowerment can prove to be an effective approach for improving the attitudes of the employees along with work behavior in a diverse range of industries. It helps in leading to higher job satisfaction and reduces the stress among the workers. There are some who claim that employee empowerment can help in revitalizing an organization whereas there are others who conceive it to be like a “chimera” and point out that it increases the chance of failure of the organization. Brisson et al. (2016) has remarked that decentralization of authority is an important aspect that paves the path for employee empowerment. Managers should share all kinds of information and involve the workers in the field of decision-making so that the employees feel empowered. Managers who make the employees feel that they are a valued part of organization helps in encouraging the employees which in turn increases the worker productivity.
The environment at the workplace helps in the creation of elements that enables the employees to carry out their respective responsibility within the organization. There are two kinds of working environment- conducive and toxic. According to Appelbaum (2013), a work environment that is conducive provides experience that is pleasurable and helps them in actualizing their behavior. A toxic work environment can provide unpleasant experiences and deactualizes the behavior of the employees. Noise control and hazard control helps in creating a conducive healthy environment thus significantly increasing the worker productivity. Employees should be provided with abundant opportunities so that it leads to their personal growth and rewards awarded to the employees will help them in deriving encouragement. Al Horr et al. (2016) has remarked that office along with factories that is too hot and not well-ventilated proves to be uncomfortable to work in thus decreasing the productivity of the employees. The working environment consists of the safety of employees, job security and recognition in relation to good performance. The employees being able to participate in decision-making process of firm feels emboldened and increases the worker productivity Schulte (2015) has commented that the working hours and autonomy that is given to the employees increases the job satisfaction of the employees and increases the productivity. The top management can create sense of responsibility in the employees by making them work in a team. The interaction between the employees in an organization proves to be crucial for achieving the goals within the organization.
Supervision is an important arena that helps in maximizing the success potential of the workers. Abusive supervision is a major problem within the organization. It indirectly affects an entire organization and affects the perception of the employees for the company. Bari, Arif and Shoaib (2013) has commented that poor supervision removes an important part of the support process of employees and eliminates any opportunity for learning along with self-growth. After the completion of initial training, supervision becomes necessary for developing the skill and knowledge of the employees. Many supervisors are referred to as “coaches” within the organization. Poor supervision opens the opportunity in relation to unethical behavior in the organization. Poor supervision makes the employees feel as if they are undervalued by the company and it does not induce loyalty in the employees for the organization (De Been and Beijer 2014). Employees who do not have loyalty deviates from that of the acceptable business practice and it can lead to activities like theft and falsifying important documents. Goal development is an important aspect of supervision as goal setting is associated directly with that of higher employee satisfaction along with that of performance.
A primary source helps in providing first-hand evidence regarding an object or person. Interview survey and questionnaire are taken recourse to in case of primary method of data collection. Secondary sources describe, analyze and evaluate the primary sources and they are inclusive of magazines and articles that are found in the scholarly journals (Junior, Best and Cotter 2014).
Primary method of data collection was used in order to carry out this research. An interview was carried out at the Wesfarmers Limited that is an Australian conglomerate and provides services to the Western Australian farmers. In this research, research sample are the employees of Wesfarmers who were randomly selected from different departments and were asked close-ended questions. 200 employees of the company were selected and they were asked close-ended questions regarding how the factors at the workplace had an impact on the worker productivity.
The interview carried out at Wesfarmers Limited outlined the factors that enhanced the worker productivity in the organization and led to job satisfaction. 70% of the employees attributed to the fact that support of the supervision and positive work environment proved to be of great benefit for the employees and have significantly contributed in providing a positive experience for the employees in the organization (Katzenbach and Smith 2015). The employees were asked whether miscommunication in the arena of delivering information caused the morale of the employee to be broken and they agreed to the fact by saying that it made them feel less empowered. They were asked whether communication skill of the supervisor helped in increasing their job performance and 65 % of the employees felt that good communication skill helped in clearing misunderstandings and led to a good bond between that of the supervisor and his subordinate. It was found that 75 % of the respondents felt that noise reduced the productivity of the employees. According to Tannenbaum (2013), a good environment filled the employees with energy and they could devote their full attention to the work. The employees were asked about what were the factors that led to a conducive work environment. A conducive work environment is created by the perfect co-ordination between all the employees and the top management being understanding helped in augmenting the worker productivity. The employees were asked regarding whether sanitary work environment helped in increasing the job satisfaction of the employees. 70 % of the employees felt that installation of air purifiers and disinfectant system created a healthy work environment that reduced the chances of absenteeism and indirectly helped in increasing the worker productivity (Pereira et al. 2015).
Conclusion:
The factors prevailing in the workplace greatly influence the productivity of the employees and if the working conditions are bad then it restricts the employees from attaining their full potential. The work force can achieve better results with the help of active support of the supervisor, adequate use of technology and by increasing the strength of the employees. The physical environment also proves to be crucial and it should be healthy so that the employees do not fall sick on account of bad working conditions. On account of the employees staying absent, the productivity is reduced which decreases the profit of the organization. A positive working environment and active support of the supervision prove to be great drivers of performance that augments the productivity of the employees.
References:
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