Job performance is the appreciation, more less objective based on standards and indicators, regarding what is the level of adjustment between the effort of the worker, the achievements made and the quality of their work in an organizational and industry context. The way of "how we work" can be analyzed from different points of view in order to understand these dynamics and be able to reorient the actions that allow increasing performance.
As is known, job performance depends on the relationship that exists between the individual's level of technical competence, their attitude toward work and the availability of associated resources, whether material and / or support. Once again our triad "knowing, being able and wanting" is repeated.
I would like to complement this view with the analysis of other variables that, linked to the previous ones, affect performance and that should be considered when proposing organizational interventions in this matter.
Just as performance is influenced by the leadership style of the head (or "management" for whom we believe that not all bosses are necessarily leaders…), it is also influenced by the quality of human relationships within a company. work team. We will call this team compatibility, since the quality of the interaction between individuals will be the result of the different types of personality, self-esteem, communication styles, negotiation styles, etc., that each one possesses and the strategy that the team and the organization are proposed to be able to integrate them in a positive way. This point goes very hand in hand with the work environment, since in a negative climate, efforts to achieve goals and avoid errors (and deviations) are minor, producing precisely what we try to avoid.
Continuing along the same lines, the workload resulting from the distribution of tasks based on the number of workers has an impact on performance. It is assumed that a person will have a workload according to their abilities, even though we know that in many organizations the distribution is unequal, either due to lack of personnel, generalized work overload and sometimes due to an unequal distribution among workers.. Absenteeism requires that the workload be distributed in an abnormal way, as well as some work conditions (seasonality, tasks that are executed on certain days of the month or due to the inherent characteristics of the work, etc.) and strategic decisions that do not contemplate the current architecture of the equipment.
Poorly designed standards prevent evaluating performance and making management decisions around it. Over demanding of workers will always have adverse effects on both performance and motivation, since it will be difficult to achieve the proposed goals (especially when they are poorly designed). At this point, the industry and the conditions act as indirect agents that influence management decisions that, when operating down, impact performance, for example, by changing quality for speed when the company is not prepared for these dynamics.
Bad selection or promotion also influences the level of performance. Selecting non-competent personnel, or not closing the gaps detected once installed in the job, prevents the person from meeting the expectations of the position. Incorrect internal mobility leads people to occupy positions for which they are not necessarily prepared.
Failure to provide timely feedback also affects performance, as continuous improvement or maintaining high levels of performance involves correcting details and small deviations, as well as reinforcing correct actions and decisions. When performance is not evaluated and feedback permanently and is only "measured", we always maintain the same level of performance, the illusion that things are being "done well" and finally, comfort and relaxation in extreme cases, with its logical resistance to change.
From the worker's point of view, high performance is achieved when retribution for effort is received and when I can work without worries that significantly alter my mood. “Unpleasant stress” or distress, for example, is one of the conditions that prevents the normal deployment of capabilities, as is demotivation due to lack of purpose or dissatisfaction of expectations (among others). Add to this the day-to-day concerns that each person has and the sometimes low level of emotional control as elements that affect performance.
According to all of the above, it seems that job performance is not a constant, or at least we should not understand it that way. There is an illusion that the achievements and quality of work obey an intrinsic level achieved by the individual, even though the sum of the variables just seen shows that performance may vary according to changing conditions in the work and personal context. Therefore, organizations are required to address the variables that are within their power to modify, being in summary: the work environment, the integration of work teams, standards to measure performance, compensation for effort, selection policies and promotion, among others.
