Report on productivity as the key to higher wages in the UK, statistics fromGroup Risk Development (GRiD) research on how employers are feeling the effects of lost productivity and how they are working to combat its effects. With analysis of the research from Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD. 

The report in short: A quarter of employers (23 percent) believe productivity is an issue for their business and are trying to identify and tackle the factors weighing down their growth. Promoting flexible working and investing in the wellbeing and fitness of their staff for long-term gain are popular measures. Working from home and compressed hours ranked highest as measures to combat productivity, with nearly a third (29 percent) of employers saying they promoted this. A quarter (24 percent) of businesses invest in new equipment. 22 percent of employers are encouraging their staff to be more active; 18 percent are encouraging staff to improve their health. Just 6 percent have invested in fitness technology.

Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for Group Risk Development (GRiD) comments: “The productivity puzzle is not just an intangible issue: smaller businesses are now seeing their ability to achieve their growth potential hindered. It’s clear from these results that employers are starting to recognise the importance of acting to combat losses and are implementing a range of measures, which in itself is encouraging, but central to improvement is staff wellbeing.

“Ill health, stress and, therefore, absence can still strike. When they do, they have a significant impact over the long-term, so there is clearly more to be done to prevent this from becoming a continuous drain on the business. Group income protection products may seem like an extra step to take, but they are hugely effective in keeping people in the workplace and giving them the support they need. At the end of the day, a business grows on the people behind the ideas and their delivery, so investing the time and effort in ensuring staff retention, support and motivation is kept up is key.”