How productive is your business?
Business productivity is at the heart of business growth, yet so few companies focus on it as part of their growth strategies. More than 50% of a company’s growth comes from simply operating in favorable markets, with little thought to internal performance or productivity.
This means when economic circumstances change – and we’ve all seen how quickly that can happen over the last year – many companies are left struggling to survive.
That’s why we’re looking at eight business productivity statistics that will revolutionize the way you approach business growth.
1. Low business productivity costs the global economy an estimated 8.2 trillion.
To put that figure into context, that’s around 9.7% of the world economy of 84.54 trillion. Just think what good we could do in the world with a ten trillion increase in the world economy.
2. Countries with better working conditions have higher business productivity.
Luxembourg is the most productive country in the world. This should be unsurprising as Luxembourg has the highest minimum wage in the EU, with strict laws on how many hours may be worked in a week and a high amount of holiday compared to other nations.
The Scandavian countries of Norway, Denmark and Sweden are also within the top ten most productive countries. All these countries have an outstanding work-life balance and incredible public service systems from a high tax rate.
On the other end of the scale, the Czech Republic has the lowest productivity score, closely followed by Mexico. Both countries have a very low minimum wage, long working hours and a poor work life balance.
Even within the G7, Japan lags considerably behind other nations in regard to business productivity. Again, this is another country where stress levels are high, work hours are long and high living costs impact employees’ well-being.
All this goes to show, employee satisfaction and engagement go hand in hand with business productivity. Which brings us onto our next fact…
3. Engaged employees are 17% more productive.
Companies with high employee engagement levels enjoy 17% higher productivity levels on average.
Compared to other businesses, businesses that are within the top 25% for employee experience enjoy an ROI three times higher than the other 75% of businesses, as well as twice as many sales.
A separate study reveals businesses with engaged employees result in a 21% increase in profits on average.
4. Only 15% of employees are engaged at work.
Despite the clear correlation between employee engagement and business productivity, the news doesn’t seem to have caught on just yet.
A worldwide study revealed, on average, only 15% of employees say they’re engaged in the workplace. A shocking 18% of employees are actively disengaged.
Those in lower responsibility roles were the least engaged, with only around 12% of manufacturing workers engaged and 14% of sales workers. Even managers, executives and officials only averaged around 28%.
While there is a correlation between lower pay and a lack of engagement, there are many other reasons for a lack of engagement at work. This includes a poor company culture and working practices that create stressful environments to name just a few.
5. 41% of stressed employees state that stress negatively affects their productivity.
Stress is rife in the workplace.
40% of employees say their job is very or extremely stressful, with a further 25% saying their job is the main cause of stress in their life. In the same study, 26% of employees say they’re burned out often or very often by their work.
Alleviating workplace stress can go a huge way in creating a more productive workplace. Businesses can reduce workplace stress by:
- Offering mental and emotional support for employees
- Creating a company culture of trust and transparency
- Ensuring workloads aren’t unattainable
- Communicating regularly with employees to check in on stress levels
- Taking feedback from employees on how to improve
6. More than two-thirds of employers have seen increased productivity for remote workers.
Huge brands like British Telecom and Best Buy have seen a 35% to 40% increase in employee productivity for remote workers.
This increased flexibility and lack of commute has worked wonders for many employees’ well-being, allowing them more time in the day to create a better work life balance.
Employees clearly agree, as a staggering 83% of them say they don’t need to be in an office to be productive.
7. 58% of employees say company culture is more important than salary when it comes to job satisfaction.
This isn’t to say everyone suddenly stopped caring about their pay, but it goes to show how much company culture can impact employee engagement.
88% of employees believe a strong company culture is vital to the success of a business. This is entirely logical. A strong company culture increases job satisfaction by promoting employee well-being, as well as giving employees a clear vision and purpose to work towards.
8. If small businesses increased their productivity just a fraction, the economic gains could be huge.
Small businesses make up a colossal 90% of businesses worldwide. Yet research shows that it is small businesses that tend to lag behind in terms of productivity, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic where they did not have the best technologies or working practices already in place when the initial lockdowns hit.
But just a modest increase in productivity for these businesses could be a game-changer for the economy. In the UK, boosting the productivity of small businesses to match that of Germany’s productivity levels could add an additional £100 billion to the UK economy.
Think of the potential gains if SMEs worldwide all made modest improvements to their productivity levels.
Productivity Unlocks Profitability
Many businesses across the world are already seeing modest increases in productivity due to the sudden shift to remote working practices. It is a silver lining in a challenging economic landscape.
But more can be done to maximise this opportunity and create a new norm where business productivity is the tool used to unlock long-term growth and profitability. By focusing on improving employee well-being to improve employee engagement, many businesses can become more productive and profitable workplaces, helping to build stronger economies and better societies for us all.
You find lots more helpful advice on business productivity from business experts within this blog!
