http://hbr.org/product/baynote/an/R1006C-PDF-ENG?referral=00505
The Productivity Paradox: How Sony Pictures Gets More Out of People by Demanding Less
by
Tony Schwartz
Source: Harvard Business Review
7 pages.
Publication date: Jun 01, 2010. Prod. #: R1006C-PDF-ENG
Companies
are experiencing a crisis in employee engagement. One of the problems
is all the pressure companies are putting on employees to produce.
Workers are trying to get more done in less time-and are burning out.
But while time is finite, energy is not; people can increase their
reserves of personal energy. The key is to establish rituals-such as
shutting down your e-mail for a couple of hours a day so you can focus
on priorities, or taking a daily 3 p.m. walk to get a breather-that
renew your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy. These
behavioral changes are sustainable, though, only if leaders at the most
senior levels of an organization are willing to set a context for them,
both by creating their own rituals and by setting a tone where people
feel safe taking time out of the day on a regular basis. This is just
what the leaders of Sony Pictures Entertainment did. Working with Tony
Schwartz of the Energy Project, they implemented energy management
training that has reached nearly half the company so far. To date, the
reaction to the program has been overwhelmingly positive. Eighty-eight
percent of participants say it has made them more focused and
productive. More than 90% say it has helped them bring more energy to
work every day. Eighty-four percent say they feel better able to manage
their jobs' demands and are more engaged at work. Sony's leaders believe
that these changes have helped boost the company's performance. Despite
the recession, Sony Pictures had its most profitable year ever in 2008
and one of its highest revenue years in 2009.
The new normal means constant change.
Companies must reinvent themselves if they want to survive. This HBR
Spotlight section looks at organizational change through two very
different lenses-the first examining the connection between
restructuring and improved performance, the second making the case for
reorganization as a means of keeping a company's structure in tune with
the human dynamics that drive creativity and innovation. A third article
suggests new ways to keep overworked employees engaged and productive
in an economy struggling to recover from global recession.
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