Employers across the United States are worried that workers' productivity in different departments has reduced drastically.
According to data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the measure used to determine the input and productivity of workers have drastically reduced in 2022. The data can be compared to the workers' productivity recorded in 1947.
This has come as a shock to most employers as this low level of productivity among workers has not been seen in decades. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, a hybrid work environment has been promoted by many establishments. Some professional economists even predicted that the new switch to remote work would help increase productivity among workers.
This new study might force employers to return to the normal working system instead of the hybrid and remote work system US workers are trying to adopt. Many claims that in a hybrid environment, workers tend to do only what they are expected to do instead of doing all they are supposed to do.
Employers at Crossroads
The issue of US worker shortage and low productivity has reached the attention of employers who are concerned about the disastrous effects it could cause.
According to a professor of economics at Dartmouth College, Diego Comin, tracking workers' productivity can be very hard. "it is very strange. The data has been very odd in so many ways these past couple of quarters. It is hard to even tell a coherent story," he said.
The productivity levels recorded this year are quite different in many industries. The productivity levels recorded in the manufacturing sector were quite high, while those in the private sector were very low. The cause of the decline in the private sector is because of the adoption of hybrid and remote work systems.
CEOs of different tech companies, such as Meta and Google, are worried about the effect of low productivity on their company. With many of these companies laying off thousands of employees, low productivity among the remaining workers translates to lower revenue.
Microsoft's CEO has already coined a name for employers' anxiety when the thought of low productivity crosses their minds. Satya Nadella called it "productivity paranoia."
Managers of different companies are trying to restore the normality that was in place before the Covid-19 pandemic started.
Kathy Kacher, the founder of Career/Life Alliance Services, said that employers are currently at crossroads on what to do to increase the US workers' productivity.
"The leaders are not seeing what they want, and they are starting to get anxious," Kathy Kacher said.
Effects of Low Productivity on the US Economy
If employees' productivity level in the US continues to decrease, it can lead to unfathomable economic problems.
Higher productivity within the United States leads to improved living and, generally, a better economy.
Economists are concerned that if the low productivity continues to increase, it may lead the US further into recession.
Employers are also finding it hard to replace some of their workers who have been relentlessly unproductive. Due to the US Workers shortage in some critical areas, replacing key workers whose productivity is declining may take time.