Recession-caused sense of negativity taking a toll on productivity
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 23 September 2010, 15:21 IST   |    3 Comments
Printer Print Email Email
Recession-caused sense of negativity taking a toll on productivity
Hoboken: Although the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has announced that the Great Recession in ended in June 2009 in U.S., the effect of those grim days still lingers in Corporate America. Many employees these days are feeling overworked, under-appreciated, and skeptical. And despite the hopeful talk of recovery, they remain anxious, distrustful, and - worst of all - disengaged, writes Jon Gordon in his new book Soup: A Recipe to Nourish Your Team and Culture. Productivity is the key factor which should be taken cared. Research from Gallup estimates that disengaged employees are costing their companies big bucks - up to $1 out of every $3 spent on payroll. In other words, a full one-third of your company's payroll is being thrown away due to negativity. And whether that funk has descended on your company in the past couple of years or it's been there all along, you absolutely must address it now by focusing attention on the state of your company's culture. For years, managers were focused on the numbers, and the numbers were good. So morale was up and everyone was happy. But then the recession hit and the numbers went down. Well, when you're focused on numbers and they're going down, morale also goes down. So does engagement - and so does performance. Now the research is showing us that it directly affects the cash flow in your organization - at a time when every precious penny still counts. The new focus should be on culture. It should be on purpose and morale and loyalty. And all of that boils down to two words: engaged relationships. Engaged relationships are interactive, collaborative, and meaningful. Busyness and stress are a manager's two worst enemies. They sabotage our efforts to build engaged relationships. We become so focused on creating success that we don't make the time to develop the relationships that lead to true success. Where there's a void in communication, negativity fills it. Recovery or no recovery, these are uncertain times. Employees are wondering what's going to happen next, whether their jobs will be impacted, and what action to take. That uncertainty creates a void. Unless you, the manager, fill the void with clear and positive communication, people will assume the worst. Fear and negativity will creep in and dominate their thoughts, behaviors, and actions. The best thing a manager can do during times of uncertainty is to communicate with transparency, authenticity, and clarity.

siliconindia