Productivity can be defined as
- Achievement of pre-defined targets in a defined time and quality frame work.
- Taking initiative apart from achieving pre-defined targets.
Productivity has a one-to-one co-relation with performance and we use them synonymously. In the research carried in the field of psychological climate perceptions, it has been directly substituted by performance.
Co-relation between Job Satisfaction and Performance:
Many theories have been proposed to co-relate between Job Satisfaction and productivity, some of which are discussed here.
Value Theory
Value theory looks at the value a job provides to the employee. Job satisfaction exists to the extent that the job outcome matches the outcome that an individual desires.
One of the most important factors is the work environment itself. How employees “feel” about the company.
Hawthorne Studies
Hawthorne studies are based on the human relations theory: General principles "happiness for lunch bunch". It is advocated by several scholars, including Elton Mayo and Douglas McGregor.
It was first conducted at Western Electric Hawthorne in Cicero, IL.
The study found that production increased under all treatments
i.e. Attention = Increased production
Human relations theory says satisfaction will lead to productivity. It clearly indicated the influential role communication played in organizations. Upward communication/feedback in interviews is an important activity directly influencing job satisfaction. Social forces at work prove to be much more potent determinants of job performance than the physical factors.
e.g. improvement in the light conditions at work place did not directly affect the performance of the workers upwards. The fact that the workers felt more recognized and important made them work harder to actually improve performance. Even degrading of light conditions was showing a positive increment in the productivity, which brings home the fact, that social factors are more important predictors of job performance than the physical factors.
In most surveys 80-90% of employees report that they are satisfied with their jobs. They report a job satisfaction at 60-80% of the scale maximum.
It can be concluded that though the relation in happiness and productivity is positive the relation is still not very strong.
Sears - 800 store survey:
Sears conducted an 800-store survey that showed the impact of employee attitudes on the bottom line. If employee attitudes improved by 5%, customer satisfaction will jump 1.3%, consequently increasing revenue by one-half a percentage point.
Seeking ways to motivate and build worker morale pays dividends to any business or organization. The motivated worker is more committed to the job and to the customer.
Involve everyone- The case of Guardian Industries
Guardian Industries, an 800-person glass plant in Indiana decided to start listening to their employees to find their opinion on how to staff the plant’s 24-hr work shifts. The employees decided that instead of working rotating day and evening shifts, they would rather work permanent 12 hour shifts. The result--turnover fell by 50%.Well-trained employees are more capable and willing to assume more control over their jobs. They need less supervision, which frees management for other tasks. Employees are more capable to take care of customers which build stronger customer loyalty. All this leads to better management-employee relationships.
Conclusion – Involving everyone correlated to better work output
Positive affectivity:
Positive affectivity is the tendency to experience positive moods and feelings in a wide range of settings and under many different conditions. Research indicates people with positive affectivity were superior to those with negative affectivity in business decisions. Research also indicates that positive affectivity also influence people in a team and their performance can save the company precious time and money.
Unhappy employees are not only less productive, but research also suggests they're a drag on the productive employees around the office, said Michael Mercer, author of the book "Spontaneous Optimism: Proven Strategies for Health, Prosperity and Happiness." This is a widely accepted hypothesis though research does not support the idea. But, many examples prove it to be flawed. The reason being sad employees devote more energy to work to distract themselves from their present state. Sad employees are more attentive. They can only be swayed by strong arguments
References:
- Journal of Organizational Behavior 24, 389-416(2003) –Relationships between psychological climate perceptions and work outcomes: a meta-analytic review-Parker, Baltes, Young, Huff et al
- Task performance: Are happy workers productive workers? Pg 158- Greenberg, Baron (8 Edition)
- FAA(Federal Aviation Agency) Surveys(1986-1994)
