A new study suggests that businesses based in Britain’s capital are struggling with workplace productivity more than those located in other regions.
Research from Opus Energy has found that a worrying 93 per cent of London small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) believe that productivity is a problem in their workplace.
This is in comparison with 78 per cent of firms in regions such as Yorkshire and South West England, the report suggests.
As part of the study, City firms were asked what they had been doing in a bid to counter the problem.
Almost half (46 per cent) of respondents said that they had tried to introduce flexible working opportunities, while 38 per cent added that they had increased wages for workers, to ensure that all of their employees were being paid ‘above average’ for their role.
A further 36 per cent said that they had introduced incentives and perks for employees in a bid to raise team morale.
But the study argued that more needs to be done in order to combat the growing problem.
Specifically, it said that SMEs should consider working alongside other likeminded businesses or joining a so-called ‘business cluster’. This would help to improve cross-sector business relationships and enable workers to inspire one another as they work, the study said.
In fact, 72 per cent of SMEs involved in the survey agreed that working alongside other businesses would help to improve productivity, commercial success and competitive advantage for all concerned, the report revealed.
Nick Flanders, Chief Operations Officer at Opus Energy, said: “Considering that 99 per cent of all private sector UK businesses are SMEs, to hear that the vast majority of those in our capital are struggling with productivity is a serious concern.
“While it’s great to see SMEs introducing perks and wellbeing benefits for their employees in order to improve productivity, it may also be worth researching the possibilities of joining a business cluster, in order to benefit from the proximity of other businesses.”