Productivity paranoia is plaguing the workplace. Here’s what CHROs can do about it

“Productivity paranoia” is spreading through the workplace, and CHROs play a role in quelling this phenomenon. 

The term is defined as a fear of lost productivity “due to employees not working, even though hours worked, number of meetings, and other activity metrics have increased,” according to a Microsoft Work Trend Index Report. The sentiment among leadership has been further heightened by hybrid and remote work. Managers feel a greater need to account for their employees’ time and are going to great lengths to do so.

“Productivity paranoia is so prevalent that companies have invested in expensive technology—ranging from tracking software, surveillance cameras, and GPS data—to monitor their employees’ whereabouts and active time online,” writes my colleague L’Oreal Thompson Payton.

Surveillance technology shouldn’t be a company’s first response to address perceived productivity loss, says Anne Maltese, director of people insights at employee engagement software company Quantum Workplace. But its use speaks to a cultural shift, she says: the erosion of trust in the workplace. As remote work becomes more of a personal choice than a corporate mandate, skepticism among leaders has increased. 

That’s where the CHRO role is critical. “We should be really defining expectations,” Maltese tells Fortune. “We should have clear goals for employees and goals that connect to the business success.” 

Setting clear expectations of what defines success allows managers to spend more time coaching their employees rather than managing their time and outflow. 

Flexible work arrangements and business objectives don’t have to be at odds, says Maltese. Instead, “How do we focus on that intersection of what our people need to be successful, but also what our businesses need? And how do we figure out the zone of where those meet?”

Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberbburton

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