Psychologist Alla Litvinova explained what toxic productivity is
In what situations can any employee activity become "toxic activity"? And can it be influenced by it?
Alla Litvinova, an expert on psychology for the online publication BelNovosti, explained what toxic productivity is.
Let's figure out what kind of work this is. It's a normal, routine, seemingly work, but it carries with it a powerful destructive impact on other employees, managers, on the overall result of the work and, as a result, on the entire enterprise-organization.
Anyone from a junior employee to a senior manager can fall into such activity, and then, according to the domino principle, a rapid chain reaction will begin...
It is worth noting that, in general, people do this unconsciously. And this must be taken into account.
What toxic productivity can tell you? That your talented, creative and hard-working employee is on the verge of professional burnout.
There are pitfalls here that not many companies are able to overcome without damage. Fire an experienced employee? Yes, you can, but he has been with you for a long time - and he is a valuable employee, with whom it is difficult to part.
Endure? The situation will only get worse. Look for a new one, with burning eyes? It takes time to train him and adapt to the nuances of your work.
There is another way to save valuable employees and prevent unnecessary toxicity. Set your employees multi-directional tasks, do not limit them to a narrow specialization. This is the reason for toxic activity, and then professional burnout. Financial motivation will only slightly postpone the unpleasant situation in time.
Every person is designed in such a way that they cannot constantly do the same thing productively; they need to switch their attention. This is not a switch between work and rest, but a switch specifically in the types of tasks.
If you have captivated an employee with an idea, he will be like a scientist before his great discovery, he will work on the task you have set and will solve it quickly with greater results.
If the task you set requires a longer time to complete, and when you ask the employee how he is doing with the solution, you notice a lack of enthusiasm in his eyes and voice, give him another small task so that he is distracted from the first one. You will not need more than two switches - the employee himself will want to return to completing the first task.
Be sensitive to your subordinates - finding a valuable employee is not easy, but making sure that he always “sparkles with his facets” like a precious stone is a great art of a leader!
