Microsoft Encourages NZ Business Leaders To Reconsider “Productivity”

• 71 per cent of NZ employees say it’s important that employers reward impact over number of hours worked
• 32 per cent of business leaders in New Zealand say they’re rethinking how to measure productivity within the next year
• Globally, employees with thriving relationships report higher productivity than those with poor relationships (50 per cent vs 36 per cent)
• Globally, 42 per cent of employees say they want to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time networking
• However, only 30 per cent of managers feel that networking-related activities drives business impact.

 Productivity over presenteeism and the importance of networking were two of the themes highlighted in Microsoft’s annual Work Trend Index Report, released today. Titled “Great Expectations: Making Hybrid Work Work”, the report uncovers five key trends every business leader needs to know, surveying 31,000 people in 31 countries. New Zealand’s results show Kiwis place an especially high value on relationships and results over hours worked.

New Zealand may be experiencing a rethink on what work practices are considered productive, with 71 per cent of New Zealanders wanting to be rewarded for the impact of the work they do rather than how many hours they rack up. Survey respondents identified meeting business objectives, positive client feedback and achieving individual goals as the most important KPIs to hit. In response, thirty-two per cent of New Zealand employers are rethinking how to measure productivity within the next year.

"By embracing modern ways of working beyond simply measuring time spent in the office, Kiwi businesses have an opportunity to really make hybrid-work work. With the new tools and technologies available, we’re better able to measure the elements of work that can help local businesses unlock greater productivity, innovation and prosperity," says Robert Havranek, Modern Work and Security Business Group Lead, Microsoft NZ.

However, while employees want hybrid work, the report also found that one in three Kiwi employers will require their team to go back into the office full-time in the next 12 months.

The report has also identified the power of networking in driving productivity. Globally, employees with thriving work relationships report their productivity is 50 per cent higher than those with poor relationships. Encouragingly, around half of New Zealand employees overall feel they have good work relationships, despite long lockdowns and most of the country working, at least partially, remotely for the last two years.

Employees have realised that collaboration is key to achieving business success whereas admin-heavy tasks like emailing are just a visual display of "busy-ness". They are now placing more value on internal networking opportunities such as project collaboration and training sessions. 45 per cent of global employees report they wanted to spend more time networking than on admin tasks and 33 per cent want to create more of an impact through mentoring colleagues.

Despite this, just 30 percent of managers worldwide agreed that networking-related activities drive business impact. This divide in opinion could spell challenges down the line, as workers increasingly seek employment that aligns with their values and enables them to “make a difference”.

In the era of the Great Resignation, it’s therefore even more important that businesses seeking to create a strong employer brand and retain staff focus on the impact of people’s work rather than the ways it gets done, and empower them to spend time on building relationships.

“When work-life balance is out of whack, most people cut out relationship-building for more urgent matters,” says Constance Noonan Hadley, an organisational psychologist who studies workplace relationships. “Regardless of remote status, building relationships will still feel like a luxury workers cannot afford unless there is a shift in how time is prioritised and valued by managers.”

Networking will look quite different in this new era, with employees increasingly choosing to work from home. Leaders will need to think bigger when it comes to organising events that facilitate connection, regardless of physical location. The Work Trend Index report identifies the metaverse as a potential avenue for this, whether it be meetings with avatars that are able to show body language better than standard audio calls, or sessions in immersive virtual spaces.

In line with employees’ opinion that networking enhances productivity, the report’s creators say it could actually increase a business’s bottom line as well.

As Nancy Baym, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research observes: "Social capital has to do with the resources and opportunities you have access to because of who you know. When people trust one another and have that kind of capital, you get a willingness to take risks, you get more innovation and creativity and less groupthink."

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