{"id":88384,"date":"2022-12-31T12:39:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-31T16:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=88384"},"modified":"2023-01-04T12:40:39","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T16:40:39","slug":"productive-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/productive-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Ingredients of a Productive Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What makes a productive workplace? What can you, as a leader, do to increase the productive output of your team? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some aspects of productivity are specific to the industry a business operates in, there are also productivity principles that are common to all modern workplaces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, you\u2019ll learn about the key ingredients of a productive workplace and some practices you can implement to boost the productivity of your organization or team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Consistency <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People are at their most productive when they work in a predictable and consistent environment. Therefore, to ensure a productive workplace, leaders should stabilize as many aspects of a job as possible. The brain is in its comfort zone when it knows what to expect. Surprises are unavoidable on the job, whether it’s a glitch in a piece of equipment, a client responding unexpectedly, or any number of other everyday occurrences. That being said, employees will work more productively if there are systems in place to keep uncertainty to a minimum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some practices you can implement to establish consistency:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1: Develop routines or templates for recurring tasks. <\/strong>The brain doesn\u2019t have to expend a lot of energy on something that\u2019s become a habit. For example, if calling customers is a frequent part of the job, design a script that employees can use to introduce themselves and the product. This way, employees don\u2019t have to use energy to come up with a greeting for each phone call. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep in mind that routines and templates should reduce mental energy<\/a> for mundane and repetitive tasks; however, tasks that are complex or creative naturally require a lot of energy and don\u2019t need to be as heavily regulated. Stoic philosopher Ryan Holiday argues that limiting workers\u2019 autonomy is micromanaging<\/a>. In his book Ego Is The Enemy<\/em><\/a>, he explains that a leader who aims to control every action of their team members creates either workers who are resentful or workers who are dependent on corrections\u2014both of which will lead to reduced productivity.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

#2: Show your face in meetings. <\/strong>Facial expressions and body language<\/a> help people understand what we\u2019re communicating more fully. Misinterpretations can prompt threat responses if taken negatively, and they happen much more easily over email or the phone than in person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3: Share goals and accomplishments across departments.<\/strong> When you send regular newsletters, emails, or other announcements reporting on the work of all departments, employees can get a sense of the goals the company is working toward and how their roles contribute. This information can help employees prepare for potential changes. For example, if a company wants to gradually implement a new kind of software, sharing the schedule of when each department will be updated gives employees more time to adjust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#4: Create spaces where people can share their personal lives.<\/strong> One of the ways to reduce uncertainty at work is for employees to have an idea of who they work with. Providing a lounge area or a digital forum that allows people to interact casually increases the likelihood of employees forming positive relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Communication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another indispensable ingredient for a productive workplace is communication. Without efficient communication, people get distracted more often as they are bombarded by messages in the midst of work, which is a huge drain on productivity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure effective and efficient communication, Cal Newport (A World Without Email<\/em><\/a>) recommends setting up the following communication protocols<\/a> for the key aspects of work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Protocols for Scheduling Meetings. <\/strong>Create protocols that dictate how meetings are scheduled, a process that can otherwise be cognitively draining and time-consuming. Newport recommends hiring a full-time or part-time human assistant if possible or otherwise using a digital scheduling service. This lets employees list their availability and allows others to book time slots with them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Protocols for Answering Questions. <\/strong>To better answer on-the-fly questions, have employees hold office hours: set times that they\u2019re available during the day or week. Others can thus approach people with questions only when they\u2019re available to answer them. Of course, this only works for questions that don\u2019t require an immediate response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While from a productivity standpoint, reducing interruptions and cognitive switching is superior to a workday punctuated by unscheduled interruptions, from a mental health perspective, unscheduled interruptions can be beneficial. Some argue that interruptions offer the chance to have casual social interactions that create a sense of connection at work<\/a>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3) Protocols for Clients. <\/strong>Make it easy for your clients to follow progress on a project without having to send many emails\u2014a portal or project page can facilitate this, writes Newport. Be clear in the contract with clients about how you\u2019ll communicate with them. Finally, when necessary, implement crisis protocols\u2014ways for the client to reach you in an emergency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4) Protocols for Email. <\/strong>Consider strictly limiting email length. This ensures that only the simple communication suited to the email format is handled that way and that any other communication happens in person. )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5) Protocols for Status Meetings. <\/strong>Decide on a brief standing meeting slot one or multiple times a week. Have everyone provide updates in this meeting. This gets the team on the same page, limits the amount of impromptu written communication that must happen, and frees up time for potential longer meetings that emerge from the status meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Psychological Safety<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to workplace productivity<\/a>, the \u201cwho\u201d is not all that important. Instead, a team\u2019s productivity is influenced by the norms that its members adopt. Norms are the unspoken and unwritten rules that we abide by. Studies have shown that certain norms are more likely to foster productive teamwork. In particular, creating a norm of psychological safety is crucial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a team is psychologically safe, its members feel that they can speak their minds and share their ideas without fear of retribution. They feel that mistakes won\u2019t be harshly criticized, and that dissenting views won\u2019t be silenced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating an atmosphere of psychological safety is usually the onus of a team\u2019s leader. The leader must ensure that two conditions are in place:<\/p>\n\n\n\n