Psychological Impact of Today's Working Environment on Professionals

Monday, 19 August 2019, 23:23 IST
By Imelda Tarzarina, Content Writer, Siliconindia
16
18
9

work


Did you know that around 1/3rd of our lives are spent at work? And if you are Indian, the indication only beeps red on the ‘work-hour-meter’. Needless to say that this is the highest when compared to the majority global employee base! Moreover, the PLFS (Periodic Labour Force Survey) – India’s first official estimate of working hours, stated that urban employees spend around 53-54 hours a week at work – enough to imply that a ‘work environment’ majorly influences and shapes employees attitudes towards work, performance and considerably towards life itself.



By work environment, we mean those processes, systems, structures, tools or conditions in the workplace that favourably or unfavourably impact individual performance. Studies have shown that noise, light, temperature and infrastructural layout are important factors that influence employee productivity. Although these physical aspects adversely affect the employee’s psyche and overall performance, but what about the underlying non-physical factors? Toxic environments, workplace incivility, lack of management-employee interaction and meagre appraisals and no motivation, poor organizational commitments, norms/cultures and many others, create unnerving impacts on the employee and the organization, if not relevantly heeded to. Thus by modelling a welcoming atmosphere, and a vibrant culture, research has proven that employees will find themselves more engaged in their jobs further boosting productivity personally and ultimately impacting the organization efficiency as well.



It’s Time to Go for Employee Retention



It is no rarity that psychological health at work is an important subject of investigation. As employees with a greater sense of psychological wellbeing are more likely to be productive, creative, and satisfied, employees suffering from psychological distress, pressurizing targets, and unfavourable milieu, develop stress anxiety and depression leading to decreased job satisfaction with increased absenteeism and attrition. On these lines, work milieu does play an important role in an employee’s performance as it grows to become an integral part of the work itself. Therefore, most companies today go beyond bounds to ensure employees receive the best so as to enhance definite positive outcomes. Moreover, employees will always be contended when they feel their immediate environment states are in tandem with their obligations.



When it comes to today’s competitive & dynamic world, the retention of employees is of crucial significance, where management helps build & support a strong performance management culture. A one that is well designed and permits regular meetings between the management and its employees, offering a platform for assigning clear, measurable performance objectives as well as an opportunity for mentoring. Yet despite the supporting evidence, research shows many managers are failing to deliver on their responsibilities, causing the downfall of employees and the company on the whole. Therefore, these companies should find ways to ensure that the workplace environment is conducive enough to enable employees to remain competitive.



Evidences indicating poor work environment directly impacting work performance have shown major influences. For instance, an empirical study that was conducted a few years ago depicted the effect of workplace environment on Performance or Commercial Banks employees in Nakuru Town. The findings then revealed that psychosocial aspects and environment are two important factors responsible in boosting the performance of employees.  Following such evidence based studies, companies are springing upto undertaking new challenges and initiatives seeking to change their customary ways of functioning, to propel employee wellbeing and performance. Thus, if you are a company seeking to change the face of your stooping business, changing your focus from just striving to gain business profits to employee well-being might just be the right thing to do.



Read More News:



Google 'Password Checkup' to be built into Chrome



Instagram starts allowing users to flag misinformation



 

Loading...