INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 5, ISSUE 05, MAY 2016 ISSN 2277-8616 118 IJSTR©2016 www.ijstr.org Risk Of Loss Of Productivity In Workplaces Wafi Assiri Abstract: In every organization there exist some unavoidable cost when running any business. However, these costs can be minimized by managing the factors that contribute to increased business cost and finding ways to prevent risks before they occur. This paper examines one of these factors which is loss of productivity in the workplace. The paper examines the risks of loss of productivity, what causes these risks and in what ways will the business be affected by them. This paper also present the various ways a business can manage the risks by providing ways on how the business can prepare for any incidents with regards to the risks. And because it’s impossible to manage anything that you can’t measure, ways in which productivity can be measured have been addressed. Finally, the paper addresses ways in which the business can improve its’ workplace productivity to achieve the business goals and ensure continuity of the business. Index Terms: Loss of productivity, Low productivity impacts, managing loss of productivity, Raising productivity, Risk assessment, Scrum framework. ———————————————————— 1 INTRODUCTION Most organizations place a high value on productivity emphasizing the need to sustain it to ensure continuity of the business. However, sustaining productivity require the organization to maintain a conducive working environment for its employees. Several factors may lead to a decline in productivity. These factors negatively impact workplace productivity in such a way that affected units exhibits reduced performance and an overall reduction in output. These risks which might lead to loss of productivity include but not limited to technological factors, poor relationships between managers and employees, poor performance management, outdated systems, personal problems, fear of failure, poor communication, organization safety and health issues, and procrastination. They are not associated with the employees alone, but also to the workplace environment and the management. Low productivity poses a serious problem within an organization which force an organization to adapt creative ways to deal with problems that result from the productivity loss. To mitigate these risks, the business need to have strong operation foundations as a way of ensuring manageable growth and continuity. 2. FACTORS MAY LEAD TO LOSS OF PRODUCTIVITY I) TECHNOLOGY Although technology boost production there are other ways in which it affects it in a negative manner. Smartphones, social media, internet, and other entertainment sites are among technological factors that lead to low productivity in the workplace. Most employees agree that the biggest distraction come from the use of smartphones. These smartphones have internet connectivity which enable employees to access social media and other sites. The downside is that employees spend most of their times on the internet or playing games with their smartphones rather than utilizing the time to engage in productive organization activities. This leads to reduced input in terms of manpower and efforts required in production which translates to diminished productivity. II) ORGANIZATION SAFETY AND HEALTH Employees’ capacity to perform reduces if the workplace environment is unsafe and unhealthy. A workplace environment quality plays a huge role in workers motivation and their performance. The organization risks productivity loss in unhealthy environment due to employee illnesses which causes absenteeism of important workers. Furthermore if workers are injured, their productivity diminishes if they are allowed to continue working. Health issues increases cost to the employer because employee who are exempted from labor due to illnesses are still paid which is an extra additional cost to the employer. Herzberg recognized working condition as a major demotivation factor for employees. In his theory he identified that unhealthy and unsafe working conditions leads to dissatisfaction among employees causing a low morale in the workplace (Herzberg, 1965). If the environment was un conducive trying to motivate the employee to work harder through any means like rewards, would not necessarily improve their productivity. III) POOR MANAGEMENT Poor or ineffective management affects the organization productivity in many ways. The management is responsible for creating company strategies and it is the duty of the manger to implement the best ways to achieve the business objectives. The inefficiencies seen in low productivity could be due to the managers’ failure to employ effective ways to perform tasks in the most efficient manner. Poor management extends to how managers relate to their employees, the mode of communication and most of all the managers confidence. Poor communication lowers employee’s morale while the mode of communication could shape the managers relationship type with the employees. Decreased morale can reach to a point where the employees no longer care about anything concerning the company and they may perform duties as they wish. IV) INADEQUATE RESOURCES Resources may be inadequate for production or to expand the business. There could be shortage of labour or professional personnel’s to work in specific divisions in the firm. This could lead to low productivity due to underutilized opportunities. Also, employees may leave without any explanation which could lead to a void in the firm. The company needs to act first to fill such voids to ensure that the available resources are utilized. A low input in terms of labour supply, could eventually lead to low outputs of production units. V) WORKPLACE STRESS Workers with high stress levels aren’t as productive as they should be and show a characteristic absenteeism levels. Stress results from excessive work pressures in the workplace. This could be inadequate staffing where employees are required to carry out excessive tasks. According to Osterman, occupational stress causes may be