Milsted Langdon has said that recent official figures show that the UK has a problem with encouraging productivity in the workplace.

The latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics shows that UK productivity fell by 1.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2015.

The biggest decline was in the manufacturing sector, where output per hour fell by two per cent. The service sector also experience a decline of 0.7 per cent per hour, yet this figure was still 1.1 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Rob Chedzoy, a Partner at Yeovil-based accountants Milsted Langdon’s specialist manufacturing team, said that productivity is a key element of business growth, but added that businesses across the UK were struggling to improve productivity.

“For the last few years, productivity in the UK has been severely in decline. It is often the case in the businesses that we speak to that workers feel they should be earning more for the work they do,” said Rob.

“And yet many businesses find it hard to justify increasing wages without demonstrable benefits in productivity, leaving many owners in a Catch 22 situation.”

Rob added that productivity wasn’t the only sign of a successful business and that other factors had a part to play, but said that some businesses could be doing more to improve processes and the work environment to make employees more productive.

“It is hard to admit it when you’re running a company, but sometimes owners and managers could do with some professional help. This shouldn’t be viewed as an admission of defeat, but more as an investment in future success,” concluded Rob.

To find out more about Milsted Langdon’s business advice services, please call 01935 383500.