Did the pandemic really hurt productivity?

The pandemic has had a surprising impact on productivity in the workplace. Contrary to expectations, many businesses experienced a boost in team efficiency and effectiveness during the pandemic, according to a recent OpsTracker report.

The study, which analysed the views of more than 30,000 employees of financial institutions in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, and North America, found that the operational productivity of financial services institutions has steadily improved since the pandemic. Remote work did not have the negative effect on productivity and employee engagement that many wanted to attribute to it.

The resilience and adaptability of teams and leaders are highlighted in the productivity gains seen in Australian and New Zealand-based financial institutions during the pandemic.

However, this trend also poses a challenge for organisations to address capacity issues and take full advantage of productivity gains in the post-pandemic era. One such challenge is compensating for the talent shortage by improving the capabilities of existing staff, reducing costs, and maintaining the customer experience.

This trend isn't unique to Australia and New Zealand, however. A recent study by the WFH Research group revealed that remote workers in the US have also seen an exponential increase in productivity in the past six months. The study attributes this improvement to the investment in appropriate tools for remote work, and in training for and adapting to the new reality.