You may have noticed that here at ART, we talk about performance a lot. Our understanding that happiness and good health = high performance is at the heart of what we do. And yet, even though we provide solutions for the workplace, we seldom talk about productivity. Well, there’s a reason for that.
What’s the difference?
Performance and productivity have their similarities – but they aren’t the same.
Productivity is the rate at which you produce – the produce usually being work. It’s true, we do want employees to be better at their roles and that is usually achieved by doing more work, but we don’t feel that is the be-all and end-all of an employee’s role. We focus so much on productivity in our careers but surely, quality is just as important (if not more so) than quantity.
Becoming more productive doesn’t necessarily mean being a better and happier employee – there are far more skills that can advance an employee that goes beyond producing more, and we want our solutions to develop an employee as a whole, so that they’re able to achieve in their roles – making them (and you) happier.
Confidence, soft skills, resilience, problem-solving, quality of work and creativity are just a few examples of the gaps some employees may be facing that could very well be filled by being happier and healthier.
Performance, unlike productivity, looks at the person as a whole and asks if they could achieve more. Not produce more. Could they be a better team player or a stronger leader? A calmer parent or a more supportive spouse? A better listener or a more confident communicator?
When we improve our performance, we improve ourselves on the whole, making us happier and more fulfilled. This all channels into how we perform in our careers, at home and develops our self-confidence.
As individuals, we each have our areas where we can or need to perform better and by being performance (not productivity) led, our solutions can adapt and meet employees where they are in their lives. Performance asks us as individuals what success looks like and where we could do better.
While we do want to support your employees in being more productive (if that’s where they are lacking), we feel there is so much more to an employee than their productivity and we’d be doing them (and you) a disservice to focus on productivity over performance.
But productivity is a massive issue on my team…
Don’t worry – happiness, health and high performance encourages productivity! Think about it, when you’re unhappy, unhealthy and generally feel as though you aren’t achieving in various aspects of your life – are you productive? Probably not. But when you’re happy, healthy and feeling good about who you are and your personal and professional life, you find it much easier to throw yourself into work, to focus and to give your role your all. Don’t just take our word for it – the science backs it up. Happy and healthy people show better cognitive function and overall performance – which can only be a good thing for your team.
We aren’t discounting productivity as an important part of work – we’re simply saying that our solutions can do far more for your team’s professional development.
If you’d like to see it for yourself – you can bring One Wellbeing into your workplace for free! Simply get in touch today to see the benefits our solutions can bring to your team.
