The UK’s economic stagnation has long been blamed on financial uncertainty, outdated infrastructure, or even remote working. But new independent research from Cognassist, based on a survey of 2,000 UK employees, reveals a far more immediate issue impacting growth in the transport sector: 64% say they aren’t as productive as they could be at work.
According to the survey, 82% of employees who work in the transport sector feel there are serious barriers to productivity at their place of work, with the top issues being too many meetings, communication barriers with management, and micromanagement. Meanwhile, 75% say their team doesn’t understand how to use each person’s strengths effectively, leading to misallocated work and inefficiency.
Opportunities to boost productivity are being stifled: 82% don’t feel their workplace encourages creativity and innovation, and almost two-thirds (64%) think productivity would improve if they and colleagues had a better understanding of each other’s strengths.
On top of this, nearly one in five employees in the transport sector (18%) admit they are quiet quitting – doing the bare minimum at work – because their skills aren’t being used properly by their employers, and 76% say they’re not happy at work.
Chris Quickfall, CEO and founder of Cognassist, believes businesses need to rethink how they deploy the workforce’s cognitive strengths to avoid further stagnation: “Transport’s productivity problem isn’t about employees working harder – it’s about businesses working smarter. Our research shows that people want to contribute more, but too often they are held back by outdated ways of working that don’t suit their cognition. We are seeing a workforce that is not only underperforming but actively disengaging because of these systemic issues.
Businesses are stuck in a cycle of inefficiency, blaming remote working and lack of resources when the real issue is how they manage the people they already have. Rather than typecasting people with a blanket approach to management, productivity will come from ensuring each employee has the tools, support, and environment they need to put their unique skills to use.”
Cognassist is providing businesses with the insights and software to understand and apply cognitive strengths to workforce strategy, helping leaders remove barriers to productivity and improve engagement without increasing costs.
For businesses looking to take a data-driven approach to productivity, Cognassist has developed in the flow of working solutions, to help companies improve workforce efficiency, engagement, and performance. See how they are pushing boundaries with a behind the scenes view of Kai, an AI Cognitive Productivity Coach in a recent webinar.
