For several decades after World War II, the graphs for productivity and wages mirrored eac other - productivity increases allowed workers to earn more money. Over the last decade this has changed. Whoever is reaping the benefits of increased productivity, it certainly isn't the workers. Part of the explanation is that technological change distorts the

When times are tough (as they are now), we tend to turn in all directions looking for some help So, will technology help us out of the current mess we are in? It is possible for some types of organisation - but I wouldn't bet on it. In concert with something else - procedural review, process re-engineering - you

China's productivity record over recent years has been excellent - yet most of the improvement has come from capital investment. As such it has been relatively low-hanging fruit. If growth is to be maintained, the job gets harder- needing real changes to systems, processes and procedures ... real changes to labour productivity. It will be

This, of course is the time for resolution- determination to do more and/or better, to improve. But this shouldn't happen at new year- or, at least, not only at new year. Such determination should be ingrained in you at all times - and across your organisation. So, by all means make a resolution - but resolve to keep resolving... to keep challenging and improving, asking questions and seeking answers. Above all, resolve not

Information from India, provided by the ILO, shows that economic growth from 2008 to 2011 was over 7%. However real wages rose by about 1.6%. This suggests that the fruits of productivity growth are not being shared with the workers. This is unfortunately too typical. Over the last decade, the only part of the world

Many workers sit - at desks, at PCs, at assembly stations at ... It has been known for many years that it s beneficial to give people the choice as to whether to sit or stand ... and to give them furniture that accommodates either. Yes, it is rare to see such provision. Presumably the

Regular readers will know i have just been in Mauritius helping to promote their national productivity campaign. I talked to lots of stakeholders - employers, trades unions, educators, government agencies and even senior figures in the =government. Quite often I met good will ... and a realisation that productivity is important to the future prosperity

Maneesh Sethi wrote on his blog that he hired a "slapper" to smack him in the face whenever he logged onto Facebook while working and boasted that it increased his productivity. Of course, Sethi must have diagnosed the fact that accessing Facebook was causing him to lose productivity. His solution was drastic ... but imaginative.

Thomas Friedman suggests that “big breakthroughs happen when what is suddenly possible meets what is desperately necessary.” So, leaders of successful companies are those that recognise both sides of that formula - they know what is needed, and they identify when solutions become possible ... and they identify this before their competitors.

If you read lots of press releases ... as I do (yes, I know I should 'get a life'), you soon realise that just about everything is claimed to improve productivity. Most often such 'stories' relate to what is termed 'personal productivity' ... the kind of 'productivity' that is aided by powernapping, reminder software, crystals, copper bracelets, iPads, honey ... you get the picture.