When companies become addicted to meetings, it indicates poor management of working hours and decreases employee productivity by at least 30%.
If companies estimated the losses caused by a dozen employees, mostly senior ones, meeting four times a week they would think twice before giving in to "Meetingitis", the cultural tendency to schedule a meeting for every issue.
Before negotiating a new amount for the minimum wage in Panama, the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture notes that "those who strive more should receive more."
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (CCIAP):
With the establishment of a table for revision of the minimum wage, involving business associations and workers in mediation with the government, a process has been started that we hope will be carried out in accordance with the spirit for which this provision was set.
It has been announced that in June the private sector together with the government will define the methodology for wage increases, taking into account labor productivity and the cost of living.
How productive are workers for Panamanian companies is one of the elements that is to be taken into account in the way that the minimum wage adjustments will be defined from June.
Low productivity in Central American economies is the barrier which needs to be overcome if we want to grow in a sustainable way.
A study prepared by the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Funides) analyzes the evolution of productivity in different production factors in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Productivity benefits the state and private enterprise, employers, employees and the unemployed. It benefits the rich, the middle class and the poor.
An opinion piece by Jose Alberto Soto Golcher analyzes pre-election activity in Costa Rica, pointing out how "romantic" the general tone of the speeches are and the proposals by political parties and candidates, and in general, how society is dealing with the problems facing the country.
Although not applicable in all companies or for all tasks, teleworking offers substantial improvements in terms of availability of staff and reduced costs.
Although not applicable in all companies or for all tasks, teleworking offers substantial improvements in terms of availability of staff and reduced costs.
An article in Elfinancierocr.com reviews the concepts of teleworking with Alexander Bourg, vice president for Latin America at Aspect Consulting, responding to the most common questions on the subject.
Being an essential tool, dealing with e-mails takes up valuable time for entrepreneurs and executives, therefore it is essential to optimize its use.
Otto Stecher, Director of Business Outsourcing Services at Deloitte, writes:
We spent a lot of time on issues that the end of the day do not add value. When asked in a small survey what things took time away from more important matters, most people said e-mail.
Rigid working structures remains an obstacle to be overcome by women, even though new technologies have made working conditions more flexible in the world.
According to Sonia Vanegas, country manager of Manpower, at a global level, for several years many companies have started to promote policies that are friendly to women's performance. "Many women still fail to establish the balance between personal and professional life due to, among other things, rigid schedules that keep them stuck in the office," says Vanegas.
Tour operators do not have sufficient numbers of personnel who are trained as tourist guides tourists, nor is there an official organization to certify them.
Tourism businesses believe it is of the utmost importance that they have informed and personable tourist guides, as in the end they are the people who spend the most time with tourists.
Enrique Pesantez explains in his article in Prensa.com that "...
Panama is facing a challenge in achieving universal secondary education and improving the quality of the education system in order to boost worker productivity.
From an Executive Summary of the "Better jobs in Panama: the role of human capital", by the World Bank report:
Between 2001 and 2011, Panama doubled its gross domestic product (GDP). The growth has been accompanied by an expansion in employment of nearly 45 percent which matched population growth but also fueled a higher rate of labor force participation and reduced the unemployment rate, mostly in urban areas. Economic growth was led by the dynamism of service-related sectors (retail, transport and communications and financial services) and the construction sector. The dynamism of this sector resulted in increased demand for labor. Labor supply responded to both quantity and quality, increasing the number of workers and also the average educational level. By 2011, Panama had made significant progress in average labor productivity, with increases in real income for workers.
Information technologies encourage flexible employment schemes which improve quality of life for workers and boost productivity for organizations.
An analysis by Sonia Vanegas, Director of the Business Unit at Manpower Group Nicaragua, in Laprensa.com.ni, outlines that as "the industrial era transformed traditional ways of working, pulling people from their workshops to concentrate in factories and hold them to certain structured work schedules so today the Human Age, supported by information technology, is doing the same by encouraging flexible employment schemes that improve quality of life for employees and productivity for organizations. "
"What makes a country prosperous is not its resources but how productive it is. A country is not rich because of what it has but because of what it does with it " - Javier Simán.
An analysis by Claudio M. de Rosa in an article in Laprensagráfica.com, refers to the economical situation and the political circumstances in El Salvador, but most of the concepts and findings can be extrapolated to the entire Central American region.
People with a high emotional IQ are a positive influence on work groups. Everyone wants to work with them.
This ability to mediate the mood of a group is considered one of the virtues of Emotional Intelligence as defined by author, psychologist and journalist Daniel Goleman, who generated great interest in the role that emotions play in thinking, decision making and individual success when he published the book Emotional Intelligence in 1995.
Corporations that promote physical activities and sports help to improve not only the health of their employees but also their job performances.
Implementing a physical exercise program in the workplace, could be the solution to the problems of sickness absence and low staff performance as well as helping to change unhealthy lifestyle habits.
Diana Lucia Salas in her article in Elfinancierocr.com writes, "Take into account that the situation is a win-win, because the worker, on a personal level, gains significant improvements in their physical condition.
A short nap during work hours helps improve employee performance.
German doctors are recommending adding a little nap during the working day as a way of improving performance, creativity and motivating workers.
President of the German Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, Mario Ohoven, said in the newspaper edition of Bild, "'Napping in work time has already been successfully established in the United States, Japan and Austria' where they point out that incorporating 'attractive working conditions' also increases the attractiveness of a company when recruiting qualified employees. "
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