Productivity Enhancement Options in the Years of the Economic Crisis

In the recent years - due to the economic crisis - the stereotype claiming that Greek employees do not work much has been discredited; in fact, according to several studies, Greek employees work harder than their European peers. Statistically speaking they work on an average of 42 hours per week, whereas employees in the Netherlands and in Germany are employed on an average of 31 and 36 hours per week, respectively. One of the reasons for this employment time deviation between the North and South has been reported to be the benefits that the more advanced technology and modern infrastructure bring about.Productivity is expressed as the relationship between the outputs of a production system (both goods and services) and its resources (inputs) that are consumed in producing the outputs. It represents a measure of how well resources, such as labor, machines, materials, energy, capital, etc., are used. It is, however, with caution that the notion of productivity in productive systems need to be considered, since it is not only associated with the human resources efforts, and neither the level of productivity can be regarded as high or low only due to labor's responsibility. Productivity reflects the total and holistic effect of multiple factors, such as the physical capital (machines, buildings), technology, human capital (education and training), work organization, economies of scale, etc., onto the output of a production system.In the present work emphasis is given to productivity and related factors that capture certain aspects in labor management and are associated with economic performance. First, a brief literature review that sheds light into productivity issues and related factors is provided. Next, an appropriate mathematical model that incorporates operational constraints and market requirements is developed to minimize total labor and technology cost, aiming at ensuring an informed decision making process for productivity enhancement, especially in the years of the economic crisis. The study explores further potential initiatives and work flexibility plans, in an attempt to define ways of increasing productivity for the sake of both the company and its human resources.