Companies are growing their profits and at the same time employees are working harder than before. Essentially, the unemployment has declined since 2010 (Leiter, Bakker " Maslach, 2014). However, this positivity does not reflect in the workplaces. Employees are overworked, dissatisfied and burned out. Previous research showed that burnout leads to most of the employee attrition. Both private and public organizations strive to maximize the productivity of the workforce. However, workforce productivity is faced by various challenges, and it is hard for management to increase workforce productivity in the short-term without increasing workforce strain and burnout.
To increase workforce productivity within a short period may require the workers to work on weekends and vacations. An organization cannot overlook employees' free time. Vacations and weekends allow workers to regenerate so that they can increase their productivity after returning to work (Sullivan, 2004). Unfortunately, occupational stress, as a result, become chronic leading to a situation called burnout.
Demanding conditions in the workplace are stressful. Fundamentally, stress in the workplace is dangerous and impacts on employees' health and safety. In many hospitals, healthcare workers are exposed to various severe work stressors (Portoghese et al., 2014). Regardless of the WHO's goal to foster healthy work environments burnout among employees continue to be reported. Stressors at work may lead to severe distress and burnout as well as emotional and mental illness. The stressors may include high workload, low social support and emotional turmoil due to being in charge of ailing patients who mostly die on their hands.
The World Health Organization defines a healthy working environment as one in which both employees and executives work together to implement procedures to safeguard and improve the health and safety of all staff. As a result, organizational outcomes are affected. For instance, overworking nurses may lead to poor quality of care. According to Portoghese et al. (2014) in the last three decades and a half, 19-30% of workers suffer from stress-related conditions. Notably, the number has increased significantly. Burnout among nurses and other healthcare workers it moving towards an occupational hazard with burnout rates ranging from 25-75% in some medical specialties (Portoghese et al., 2014). Eight per cent of the cases are as a result of organizations' determination to increase workforce productivity in a short-term.
Workload and poor compensation are some causes of burnout. Within a short period, it is difficult for the HRM to design better compensation plans to cater to the anticipated workload that will yield higher productivity in the workforce. Unreasonable workload during the period and low compensation of the overtime hours lead to employee burnout (Maroney, 2017). Employee burnout is a universal problem currently affecting all the industries. Essentially, the crisis has been affecting the American workforce for years and has reached an epidemic proportion. A large number of human resource specialists confess that employee burnout is sabotaging the workforce. A significant percentage of employee turnover rates are due to burnout (Maroney, 2017). Many factors that are contributing to employee burnout are clearly within a firm’s control. One element is the belief that the management can increase workforce productivity drastically without experiencing employee strain and burnout. Indeed, it is practically impossible.
The need for a drastic increase in workforce productivity can be due to poor strategic plans both in the HRM and the entire organization. Lack of efficient HR competencies such as employee development, talent management, and ethical leadership are the main factors. Skilled managers should be in a position to allow their subordinates to see the importance of their contributions to be engaged as a workforce. Besides, the economy is improving, and organizations are battling for high talents (Maroney, 2017). Organizations should be ready to pay more to obtain a more abundant pool of experience to avoid straining some of the staff to acquire potential skills. Managers should be cautious to ensure workers are not overworked while trying to increase productivity.
Unmotivated, unhappy and an overworked workforce cause strain and burnout to employees and as a result, affect productivity in the workplace. Bährer-Kohler (n.d), defines burnout as a prolonged feeling of exhaustion and massive lack of loss of motivational drive that affects the productivity of the impacted employee. If burnout is not addressed in time, it may lead to depression which eventually causes a worker to be unfit for work. A manager’s decision to overwork employees to attain immediate productivity may cost a business. Majorly, the staff is the backbone of any organization. Their needs, mental and physical conditions must be seriously looked upon.
Blokdyk, (2018) identify frenetic, under-challenged and worn-out types of burnout. Frenetic refers to a kind of burnout occurring due to the immense amount of work due to the increased number of working hours per week. Under-challenged is a burnout resulting from lack of motivation and employees who do not enjoy their workplace. Lack of satisfaction from assigned tasks leads to under-challenged burnout (Portoghese et al., 2014). Worn-out occurs for employees working in a similar job position for a long time. Lack of acknowledgment from management may lead to the burnout.
Any type of burnout is dangerous and devastating amongst the staff. Firstly, after a short time of overworking, employees’ productivity may start falling. The employees start working slower which jeopardize the previously gained productivity. Secondly, the employees may begin taking more sick days. Burnout leads to increased prevalence of illness. Increased absenteeism amongst the employees leads to lower productivity. Thirdly, employees may start committing errors in completed work. Errors affect the quality of work and thereby the company's profits. Lastly, an organization that is overworking its employees is likely to experience high turnover rates. Widespread employee burnout in an organization leads to some employees quitting. Therefore, overworking a workforce to obtain short-term high productivity may turn out to be disadvantageous to an organization instead of being beneficial.
Practical Ways to Increase Employees’ Productivity
There are various effective ways that organizations can always implement to maintain the workforce productivity at high levels. In most cases, hours worked, and employees’ output fails to match. The best way to increase workforce productivity is to put measures that ensure that employees’ are productive in every hour spent in the office. An organization should allocate resources for performance management to ensure employees performance and output aligns perfectly with the organizational goals (Axilrod, 2015). Performance management is significant for increasing employee productivity.
Besides, the HR of an organization should invest in workforce planning. Primarily, it is systematic and allows an organization to plan to avoid workforce shortages or surpluses (Sullivan, 2004). With a workforce plan, an organization can forecast its talent needs. An efficient plan helps the management to avoid panic hiring or employee burnout. The HR is in a position to provide the executives with the abundant number, right skills, and modern workforce. An organization that implements such measures prevents burnout and strain amongst the employees in times of emergency.
The idea of succeeding without a plan is dangerous as it negatively influences the organization’s team. Drastic changes that require employees to work tirelessly may make employees view the management as aimless and without direction. The depression conclusions impact morale and productivity of the staff. The HR must be more than an overseer of policies and start playing key roles that enable it to be in-step with the overall organizational plan (Sullivan, 2004). Without an effective action plan, and the right expertise in the HR department an organization is at risk of inadequate staffing, negative employee morale, and falling productivity rates.
The need to increase workforce productivity within a short time can be as a result of failure on the HR side to understand the business cycles. HR officials should be aware of the growth and recession periods that occur in every few years. Many HR managers are short-term oriented. The behavior should be ditched, and the HR should prepare strategic approaches for various business cycle phases rather than acting surprised. Planning enables an organization to lessen the effects of economic cycles on the management. An effective plan foresees the upcoming changes in an economy and helps an organization to position itself.
Workforce planning also helps an organization to take advantage of short-term growth opportunities. With the adequate lead-time, the HR is in a position to obtain the necessary talent and the resources to utilize positive opportunities (Simon, n.d). If the management wants drastic improvements in productivity, the HR can efficiently fulfil the need without straining the workforce.
In conclusion, this analysis discussed the reason why it is hard for management to increase workforce productivity in the short-term without increasing workforce strain and burnout. Employee burnout is a problem influencing many organizations today. Employees are attaining their breaking points faster. Burnout and strain cannot be overlooked. It cost companies millions annually in health care costs, turnover and low productivity. Unfortunately, many organizations treat burnout as a personal issue instead of as a social workplace issue. Leaders should advocate for preventive measures. Otherwise, burnout will continue to be an epidemic that threatens the employees.
References
Axilrod, H. (2015). 4 Methods to Increase Employee Productivity. Entrepreneur.
Bährer-Kohler, S. (n.d.). Burnout for Experts [recurso electrónico]: Prevention in the Context of Living and Working.
Blokdyk, G., (2018). Workforce Productivity Standard Requirements. Emereo Pty Limited.
Leiter, M.P., Bakker, A.B., " Maslach, C. (Eds.). (2014). Burnout at work: A psychological perspective. Psychology Press.
Maroney, J. (2017). The Top Three Factors Driving Employee Burnout. The Forbes Magazine.
Portoghese, I., Galletta, M., Coppola, R.C., Finco, G., " Campagna, M. (2014). Burnout and workload among health care workers: the moderating role of job control. Safety and health at work, 5(3), 152-157.
Simon, J. (n.d.). Consequences of Poor Human Resource Planning. Retrieved 9 19, 2018, from Chron.com: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/consequences-poor-human-resource-planning-43531.html
Sullivan, (n.d). (2004). Why You Need Workforce Planning. Retrieved 9 19, 2018, from Workforce.com: https://www.workforce.com/2002/10/24/why-you-need-workforce-planning/
