Productivity can be a challenge for any business. Keeping things moving at peak efficiency is essential to success. But have you ever heard of “fauxductivity”? This phenomenon, in which employees appear to be busy but actually get little done, can wreak havoc on your entire organization. Here’s what all employers need to know.
What Is Fauxductivity?
Fauxductivity is simply fake productivity. Your employees may act busy. They might look busy. Indeed, they might actually be busy. But are they getting anything productive accomplished? Sometimes it occurs as part of another phenomenon known as malicious compliance, in which workers find ways to fight back against rules or expectations that they deem unfair. In other cases, it’s because they haven’t been given anything specific to accomplish. Either way, there are proactive steps you can take to minimize it across your teams.
How Can You Reduce Fauxductivity?
Focus on progress.
It’s so easy for managers to fall into a routine of busywork: unnecessary meetings, endless planning sessions, and constantly checking email. But when you prioritize being busy over getting results, it can also trickle down to your employees. Take a deep breath and refocus on accomplishing your goals. Remember, the process is only a means to an end.
Assess your project management.
Excellent project management keeps worksites humming along. But poor project management can become a place to hide inefficiencies and lack of productivity. Be sure you’re using the best tools and analytics to make data-driven decisions.
Stop rewarding the loudest voices.
Some employees want to make sure the entire office knows how much work they’re doing. The problem is that they aren’t always making real progress. Even if they are, publicly rewarding them could encourage others to follow suit, potentially through fauxductivity. Instead, implement a reward program that focuses on results and apply it fairly across the board, not only to those who brag loudly about how much they’ve done.
Fauxductivity is a real problem for many employers. But when you follow the tips above, you can reorient your entire staff to a results-driven system that rewards genuine productivity.
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