Understanding Labor Productivity: Factors Contributing To Worker Efficiency

Definition and Evaluation of Worker Productivity

When estimating the duration of effort-driven project activities, the resources expected to do the work must be specified. One of the factors that will determine the work duration estimate is worker productivity.

A. Define worker productivity (in the context of project work) ?

B. Describe at least 3 factors that will affect worker productivity and explain how these factors will influence the estimate of work duration?

C. Describe two techniques, related to one or more of the factors described above, that may be used in directing workers or in establishing the work environment that will improve worker productivity?

The productivity of the worker is defined as the assessment of how efficient a worker is.

The productivity could be evaluated in the terms of the output of an employee in any given period of time. The productivity of any employee or the worker is calculated by using the average amount of time taken by the other workers or the employees doing the similar work. The success of any organization is dependent upon the productivity that is given by the workforce and it is an important consideration for the business involved.

(Whatls.com, 2015)

When one talks about the productivity of the worker or the labor, he is actually talking about the construction industry in which the cost and the quantity of the labor hours is involved for performing the task of construction. But it is really important to know that the measure of productivity of the labor is the measure of the overall effectiveness of the of any system that is utilizing the labor, equipment and the capital in order to convert the efforts of the labor into the useful output and is not a measure of the capabilities of the labor alone. In order to illustrate this, when the organization purchases any new equipment, then the number of hours of the labor will get reduced and the labor productivity will get increased.

The main effectiveness of the operating system is in the process of utilizing the about, equipment and capital so as to convert the efforts of the labor into something that is useful. This is not the capability of labor all by itself.

(pmbook.ce.cmu.edu., 2015)

The workers and the labor that is working on the site of the job have the characteristics that are either oriented. There are working conditions and then there are non-productive activities. The labor characteristics includes the following:

1. The age, skill and the experience that is possessed by the workforce.
2. The leadership and the motivation of the workforce involved.

The project work includes the following stated factors:

1. Size of the job and the complexity involved in it
2. The accessibility to the job site
3. The availability of the labor
4. The utilization of the equipment
5. The contractual agreements involved
6. The local climate
7. The local cultural characteristics, particularly in the foreign operations.

The non-productive activities are associated with the project may or may not be paid by the owner but they take up the resources of the labor that could otherwise be directed to the project. The non-productive activities includes the following stated factors:

1. The indirect labor that is required to maintain the progress of the project
2. The rework for correcting the unsatisfactory work
3. The stoppage of the work of the temporary staff due to the inclement weather or the shortage of the material
4. Time off for the union activities
5. Absentee time including the starting the work late or quitting the work early
6. Non-working holidays
7. strikes

The following are other factors that contribute to the labor productivity:

1. Time: the studies that have been conducted in the past have shown that the decrease in the productivity when the person or the labor or the worker is working overtime. The reasons for the same have been told as fatigue, increased absenteeism, decrease in the morale, reduction in the effectiveness of the supervision, poor workmanship. This further results in higher number of reworks, increase in the number of the accidents. When the person is working overtime, this would initially result in the increase in the output but later on, will reduce the productivity. The time that is used by the labor on the productive activities are about 30% of the total amount of time that is available.
   
   
2. Schedule compression: when there have been early delays in the project, then there is a compression of the overall time frame for the later activity and they are the ones that compensate for the interruptions and to complete the task that has been assigned on the schedule.
   
   
3. Type of the project: when any task has been assigned to the member, each of the member must carry out his task efficiently without letting his work to be affected by the work or the task of the other crew members. When the labor is allocate done task within a given set of time frame, then the interference with the other will occur. Further, when there are many trades that have been assigned some work in the same area, then the clashes are bound to take place. And when there are a number of tasks that have been assigned to the workers, then they will definitely interfere in each other’s work.
   
   
4. Safety: the number of accidents that takes place on the site has a bearing on the labor productivity. Since, when the accidents occur, the work is totally stopped for a number of days or for weeks. When a fellow worker is injured and is hospitalized, the work of the crew gets reduced and this leads to the decrease in the productivity.
   
   
5. Equipment:
   
   
6. Improper working conditions: when the employer does not provide adequate and proper working conditions, then the productivity of the labor get further reduced. For example, when there is inadequate lighting, then the workers will not be able to work properly and their efficiency will come down and so would their productivity.
   
   
7. Attitudes of the managers: the skills and the attitudes of the managers have an important bearing on the managers. In many of the organizations, the productivity of the labor is low since they have bene handed the latest technology that they have no knowledge as to how to use. The productivity of the labor is low because the management is indifferent and inefficient. The managers that are experienced and are committed are able to obtain many surprising results from the people of the average mind set.
   
   
8. Manpower group: the recent studies have shown that if the experience of the labor is negative, then the same negatively affects the productivity of the labor and hence, proves that in order to achieve the good productivity of the labor, they play a very significant role.
   
   
9. Motivation: the absence of motivation is another reason s to why the labor productivity decreases.

(Library.ndsu.edu, 2015)

(NBRI, 2015)

C. Two techniques, related to one or more of the factors described above, that may be used in directing workers or in establishing the work environment that will improve worker productivity:

Motivation:

Motivation is one of the key factors in improving and exceeding the performance of the employee. It need not always be monetary. Some of the factors that contribute to motivation are as follows:

1. The support from the management and an effective delegation of the work.
2. Certificate of appreciation
3. More and more responsibilities and the team management
4. The training for an improved performance and the profile improvement
5. Challenging opportunities and the projects
6. A ear that listens to everything
7. Providing an effective feedback
8. Providing positive team environments
9. Lack of the bias form the managers
10. The manager with the head on his or her shoulders and an effective leadership.

(Smarthr, 2015)

Motivation is something that increases the willingness of the workers to work and increases the effectiveness in the organization. It helps in the following:

1. Best utilization of the resources
2. Reduction in the number of labor problems
3. Cooperation
4. Increase in the production and the product

(Organization, 2015)

Respecting the employees:

The workers and the employees must be respected for the work that they do and also as the individuals. When the workers and the employees feel that they are genuinely being respected, then they will try to go to an extra mile in order to help the company to succeed.

(Lipman, 2013)

Many a times, we take the things for granted when we actually should not. People keep on saying that we must always look at the glass half full but the study has proved otherwise. The study states that the people who seen the glass as half full do not do better than the people who sees it as empty. The same thing applies to the life and to the business.

When the employees and the workers are happy, they are more productive. When they are respected and tend to enjoy the status quo. When the employees are happy, they will take new challenges and try to prove themselves.

(Businessweek.com, 2015)