How to drive productivity growth through innovative thinking.

Directors trying to raise productivity and support psychosocial wellbeing have the solution in their hands, says Productivity Bargain founder Anne Rayner MAICD.

When performance is non-negotiable and burnout unacceptable, directors need innovative thinking to unlock bottom-up productivity growth. Top-down initiatives, mandates and the hustle culture have contributed to the flatlining productivity addressed by the recent economic roundtable.

Forward-thinking directors should challenge executives to set outcome-focused goals, reward efficiency over hours and empower people to identify and implement their own productivity improvements to deliver high-impact work.

People-powered productivity

Leaders should offer a new kind of bargain, one that shares the benefits of productivity gains with the people who deliver them. If you produce the same outcomes in less time, you keep some of that time. The business benefits from higher output per hour, the individual benefits from regaining control of their work week schedule. Rested minds and bodies work better. Preventing burnout and psychosocial harm is simply good business.

This is a sustainable, scalable model. It recognises that the most powerful productivity lever for our future is not software, machinery or policy — it is people.

Myths to dismantle

Persistent beliefs prevent business leaders from harnessing the power of the bargain. More hours don’t always equal more output. Being present, physically or digitally, doesn’t guarantee productivity. Once a threshold is crossed, additional hours reduce effectiveness, creativity and wellbeing. This is not just a theoretical argument. The Productivity Commission has emphasised that “working harder or longer is not the path to higher productivity”.

Not all work time is productive. Low-value activity can strangle progress. Emails generate more emails. Meetings lead to more meetings. Mandates don’t drive productivity. Forcing people back into offices might feel like action, but might not deliver meaningful productivity gains. If we want real change, we must think differently.

What can boards do?

1. Incentivise people

Consult employees on how they can improve their efficiency. Encourage experimentation and recognise their contributions. Empowered and incentivised to redesign their work, individuals find ways to do more with less, without burnout.

2. Align goals around output, not activity

Create clarity around the outcomes that matter, not the inputs. Role model this from the board down, asking is this the best use of executive time to achieve that outcome?

3. Slow down to speed up

Planning, focus and review are productivity tools. By taking time to work deliberately and reduce chaos, teams can deliver better work with fewer mistakes. In an AI-powered world, structuring thinking time into the work day is critical. Value planning and focus over speed and hustle.

4. Change the system, not the individual

The productivity gap is a systemic issue. Directors need to shift the system, not treat the symptoms. Change the culture around how time is valued. Remove unnecessary bureaucracy and implement the practical solutions your people suggest.

5. Leverage technology from the bottom up

AI has the potential to transform productivity, but only if adopted effectively, by everyone. Real gains come from individuals testing tools, applying them in daily work and sharing what they learn. It is this bottom-up innovation that turns technology investment into performance improvement.

Conclusion

A productivity bargain is a business-first strategy to unlock productivity gain by harnessing human potential. Well-structured, it addresses the root causes of burnout and inefficiency while driving measurable gains in output and engagement.

It’s time to add a new tool to the productivity toolbox — one that is scalable, sustainable and built on trust, autonomy and shared success.

This article first appeared under the headline 'A bottom-up approach to productivity' in the October 2025 issue of Company Director magazine.