7 foolproof reasons managers degrade their employee's productivity

“It’s almost end of the month and I am not seeing any noticeable growth in my team.” My neighbor, who is a manager in an MNC reported to me. Being next door neighbors and managers, we have a habit of discussing our problems, issues and employee remarks with each other. A few days back, I found her coming home late and lost in her own world. She was quite tensed about her employee's productivity and her company's growth. Both of which are intangibly related.

It should be understood well that how creating an inspiring environment to fuel employee productivity is much easy to say than get it done. For any business, employee productivity is important. It is something that will bring a huge impact on the company’s bottom-line. The more efficient the employees are, the more successful the business will be.

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As a manager, our goal should be to avoid any management practices that could potentially kill employee productivity. And it is important to realize that our actions are the deciding factor for driving workforce management and addressing to the concerns. There are certain foolproof reasons that play a big part in degrading employees productivity.

 1. IGNORING TOP TALENT

It is quite easy to underestimate the power of top talent and ignore them. Mostly managers do this mistake and end up in demotivating their employees. More than half of employees get frustrated and work disheartened because of their skills being ignored.

Give a try: Recognize their talent, celebrate their success and acknowledge high-performance employees giving them responsibilities that best polish their skills. Meet the top talent in your company and help them with facilities to give their best performance. Understand how they differ from other others. However, if you want to retain your employees in the long run foster a culture of professional growth.

2. MICROMANAGEMENT

There are managers who make their employees feel totally disempowered due to the control they have on them. Making employees work activities according to the manager is a sign of micromanagement and it needs to be controlled to avoid degrading of employees productivity.

Try this: Do not be a control freak and make people accountable for their work. Move away from micromanaging by developing a trust and know your employees values. Pick the right talent and be clear on expectations.

3. LEADING BY FEAR

Fear is a powerful motivator and may force employees to lose their job. Leading by fear is a sign of suspicion in employees. As a powerful manager, there should be a need of trusting the employees at the most. Those who threaten employees job security will always be on the risk of disabling the team.

Try this: Avoid all the activities that kill morale and decrease employee productivity. Do not warn them of losing their job because of their little mistakes. Think wisely before intimidating someone’s job security. Take a deep breath, consider the positive points and let it go. Great employees rarely stick around fearful manager. Communicate a clear vision and goal with teams giving credit where it is due.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK

Social media offers a window to all managers to keep a check on how people live their lives. Managers out of curiosity or need add up their employees on social media. And everyone is getting trendy on social media. Due to the increasing online presence of employees, they are getting into the trap and it is becoming the main reason for degradation in employees productivity.

Try this: Allow workers to live their personal lived without intrusion. According to Harvard business review, companies that foster creativity are more profitable and are 50% more likeable to be market leaders, so a company should make a connection between suppressing employees online freedom and restricting creativity.

5. MISUSE OF TECHNOLOGY

Many managers refuse to make hold of technology that significantly creates a mess. There is a certain technology that increases productivity in the workplace and using collaborative cloud based management software that can be very effective in making employees productivity. It's important to study different hardware and software solutions that can improve employee productivity.

Try this: Use software and devices that can make it easy to bring communication and collaboration within employees. Respect work-life balance. Allow them to work from home in emergency situations and give them access to all the latest technologies.

6. NO SELF CARE

Year by year, the employees are falling into sickness due to stress and the fear is increasing. Managers have to boost employee productivity by encouraging self-care and combat burnout before it happens.

Try this: Foster a healthy work culture by listening to employees, offering feedback, and establishing clear parameters for success. Encourage team members to care for their physical, mental and emotional health. Show them their value, their good sleep and work-life balance.

7. UNHEALTHY COMPANY CULTURE

A company culture is the blend of values, rituals, and beliefs that define the personality of your brand. The managers are always running after the results that they forget to look after the working culture of their company. The only way to maximize results is to create a working environment that is both enjoyable and comfortable.

Try this: According to a study, happy employees are 12% more productive at work. Create an environment that engages employees and promotes motivation and good work ethic. Engage the employees in team building activities, improve communication and show care for employees.

If a manager takes care of all these things, they can prevent the degradation of their employee's productivity. Productivity is the lifeblood of a company, develop it gradually. 

Originally Published on Yourstory.

Author Bio:

Vartika Kashyap is the Marketing Manager at ProofHub and has been one of the LinkedIn Top Voices in 2017. Her articles are inspired by office situations and work-related events. She likes to write about productivity, team building, work culture, leadership, entrepreneurship among others and contributing to a better workplace is what makes her click.