The New Essentials of Worker Productivity That’s Sustainable and Attainable

BY Katie Chambers | May 20, 2025

“How do you stay productive?” 

It’s a burning question in our hectic modern culture, and one that moderator Alexa Reed, digital editor at Dallas Business Journal, posed to speakers during a panel discussion at From Day One’s Dallas conference. 

The varied answers were both practical and philosophical, everything from staying hydrated and responding to emails within three hours, to taking extreme ownership and finding purpose in your work every day. 

If you’re noticing disengagement within your workplace, it’s best to turn to the source before launching any new initiatives. “Have you addressed the factors in your organization that caused disengagement in the first place? Because if you’re not careful, you could drop your people back into the exact same environment,” said Jonathan Thorp, chief learning officer at Quantum Connections.

“Make sure you take stock: Are the objectives of the work at hand clearly defined? Are the resources clearly articulated? And most importantly, is the culture aligned with what you're trying to do and what you’re [seeing] in your workspace?” he said. Once you better understand the cause you can then create a strategy to re-engage. And don’t view disengagement as a bad thing, he says, instead, use it as a signal to know when it’s time to act. 

Regular leadership communication with employees can help them better understand the meaning and impact of their work, says Anitha Ramesh, head of HR at Tech Mahindra. 

But don’t just talk. Listen to your employees to understand what best motivates them, then invest in their answers. “It may be developing in a new area [or] giving them a stretch opportunity. For some, it may be compensation,” said Lisa Jennings, global head of HR, news and media at Bloomberg. 

Leaders and managers should carve out one-on-one time for authentic employee listening in addition to surveys, says Je’Mone Smith, VP, HR and diversity at Agiliti HealthCare. “[Make it] about the employee: What’s working, what’s challenging, and how can I help you?” Smith said. “And if [leaders] stick to that consistently, studies show that’s probably the number one driver of engagement in terms of the tools that are afforded to a manager conducting those one on ones.” 

EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs) not only provide benefits but can also offer insight into where employees need the most support, helping you better direct resources to where they are needed most. “Engaging with your EAP vendor or your insurance vendor a little more than what you do currently [helps with] understanding the underlying issues. Ask ‘What are the top trends you are seeing from our workforce?’” Ramesh said. “Then roll out specific programs.” 

The Impact of Employee Well-being on Productivity

Employees’ mental well-being is top-of-mind, especially in the post-pandemic era, and can have a marked impact on productivity and engagement: happier workers are better workers. Bloomberg has developed an interesting strategy that makes well-being itself a way to engage with the workplace through its Mental Health Advocate program.

“We give all our employees the [optional] opportunity to be trained and certified in mental health awareness. We bring in an outside provider [that offers] a half -day rigorous training and an exam,” Jennings said. Then they can be the “eyes and ears” in the office to notice when someone might be exhibiting signs of needing professional mental health support.

Alexa Reed, digital editor at Dallas Business Journal, moderated the discussion among leaders

It’s also crucial to help employees feel connected to their work, no matter how scattered they might be due to hybrid or remote circumstances. Ramesh says employees feel more connected when they know that their company cares about them. Tech Mahindra accomplishes this through a program that incorporates all different types of personal well-being, including mental, physical, emotional, financial, spiritual, occupational, and social. And location councils help to recreate larger programs from the corporate level in a more localized way for a distributed workforce. 

Happy, engaged, and productive employees are a boon to talent acquisition and attention. “If you have engaged employees, they’re proud of what they do, they’re proud of where they work. So they’re the best recruiters for the company,” Smith said. “About 20% of our jobs that we [at Agiliti HealthCare] fill are based on referrals, and typically, retention is improved when people are referred. Turnover is reduced when people are referred to the company by someone that they know,” he said. 

The Role of Technology in Productivity 

Technological advances such as AI have the power to greatly increase employee productivity when used effectively. Panelists suggest careful check-ins with employees throughout the product implementation process to understand exactly how new technologies are working—or not.

“We want to make sure that when we communicate what the new technology, the tool, [or] the training is, we have a two-way dialogue to ask the users, ‘What’s your expected outcome and what you need in terms of resources, training and time to actually pull off a successful launch?’” Thorp said. “It’s not just about utility. It’s about the entire UX range. It’s about the holistic experience.” 

Cultivating the Next Generation of Leaders 

Employers should be looking to the future not only in terms of technological advancements but also workforce development, priming the next generation of leaders for success. Smith strongly recommends hiring from within whenever possible, not only to save on the cost during the hiring process but also because those employees already have “buy in” with the company culture. 

Smith identifies two key qualities of great potential leaders: those who can communicate effectively with colleagues at all levels (“from peers to direct reports to the C suite”), and those who can listen and be fully present despite all the usual modern distractions. 

To encourage internal growth and mobility, Bloomberg offers its Embed Program, which allows employees to try out different teams or departments. “It’s a way for us to drive retention, drive people to feel like we’re investing in them,” Jennings said. “We’re giving them an opportunity to explore something internally, and it also leads to internal mobility opportunities. It’s been a great motivator and a great way for people to explore different internal roles, instead of us losing people to the market.” The program is open to employees starting in their fourth year, the time when the company has noticed people often get ready to move on. 

Similarly, Agiliti Healthcare offers Talent Tuesdays, which let hiring managers present internal career opportunities to current employees to spark their interest in moving within the organization. 

Leaders are so important, not only for the company’s longevity but for encouraging culture and inspiring workers within. Supervisors, Thorp says, should make their team members feel seen, heard, welcomed, and appreciated as the unique individuals they are. 

“It’s making sure people feel valued, and that you see them as a human being that has issues, that they need flexibility one day, or they need support in another way. It’s about making people feel that you care about them,” Jennings said. “That you’re not just here to churn out work, but that you're viewed as a person, and that you're being invested in by the organization.”

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

(Photos by Steve Bither for From Day One)

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