Productivity

It’s a sad fact of life: two-thirds of full-time employees are either completely stressed out at work or already in a state of burnout. According to The American Institute of Stress, that is the result of a few different factors. An employee’s workload accounts for 46 percent of that stress, interpersonal issues at work is 28 percent and job security and work-life balance is 6 percent.

It's pretty typical that, when the end of the year rolls around, small and medium size business (SMB) owners think in terms of what is in store for next year. Setting goals and aspiring to new opportunities is part of the entrepreneurial mindset.

Earlier this spring the innovation and business magazine Fast Company ran a series of articles titled “Secrets of the Most Productive People”. The articles tapped onto the wisdom of successful icons such as Oprah Winfrey as well as a few lesser known CEOs and inventors.

Around Thanksgiving, The Atlantic Monthly rehashed a once revolutionary idea. “A New Business Strategy: Treating Employees Well” touched on the subject of productivity in business, a topic this blog explored right before the holiday. But the article wasn’t about simply giving extra pay or benefits to workers.

​One of the more common topics in the ongoing discussion about business is productivity. Simply put, productivity is an essential ingredient in any endeavor. It is defined as “a measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, or system in converting inputs into useful outputs.”