Rigid measures | Productivity is ambiguous, but this is how you can measure it

The word ‘productivity’ has been thrown about a lot recently, especially since employers are increasingly mandating their workforce return to the office. Many of these bosses are citing a lack of productivity as the main reason for their mandate.

Citigroup, the financial services company, recently warned its workforce that performance ratings or their pay could be impacted if they don’t return to the office. While software company Salesforce announced they would be donating £8 to a charity chosen by their staff upon their return to the office.

Whether it's through incentivisation or threats, some employers are willing to do whatever it takes to get their staff working in-person again, and all in the name of productivity. But what does ‘productivity’ even mean? And with it being a somewhat abstract concept, how can employers fairly measure it?

Working hard, or hardly working

From some employers' perspective, productivity means profit. With companies switching to remote work, bosses could no longer keep an eye on what their employees were doing, making them feel as though they couldn’t accurately moderate and measure the productivity of their workforce.