Are Chinese Workplaces Fit for Long-Term Growth?

Now that China has emerged as a player in the global economy, Chinese officials are eager to help their country take the next step and become a global economic leader. Accomplishing that will depend on the abilities and commitment of the Chinese people. Chinese business leaders, under intense pressure to grow, will increasingly be asking, "What drives one person to achieve high levels of productivity, and others to settle for average?" There are four dimensions Gallup finds to be vital in unlocking human performance -- not just in China, but throughout the world. This week, we'll discuss two of the dimensions and tackle the others next week.

1. Clear expectations. Productivity begins with a sharp focus on the exact nature of one's job. If employees go to work every day without a firm grasp of the intended outcomes of their roles, chaos and confusion abound. Chinese employees who "strongly agree" with the statement, "I know what is expected of me at work," are far more likely to be engaged overall than those who do not agree.

In China, nearly three in four employees agree with this item. But that high incidence of agreement also implies this attribute is a true differentiator of top performers. It's an essential prerequisite, but not the magic bullet that distinguishes highly productive Chinese workplaces. 

The strong likelihood of Chinese employees to say they know what's expected of them is also consistent with findings in other developed economies, such as Germany, Japan, and the United States. The need to get people "in line" with clear organizational goals is a fundamental tenet of good management.

But management often stops right there. Telling people what to do, and then closely supervising them to ensure they did it, was common in the last century and is still common today. The problem is this: New communications and information-sharing technologies, coupled with a constant need for innovation among the 21^st-century businesses, makes adhering to a rigid hierarchy a liability rather than an asset.

So as the basic manufacturing line in China meets up with 21^st-century technology, organizational priorities will have to shift to allow for greater autonomy among workers. As Thomas Friedman wrote in a New York Times article, "The main challenge [during the Cold War] was from those practicing extreme Communism, namely Russia, China and North Korea. The main challenge to America today is from those practicing extreme capitalism, namely China, India and South Korea. The main objective in that era was building a strong state, and the main objective in this era is building strong individuals."

Moving to a more individualistic concept of productivity places more importance on finding the people best-suited for each role, which leads to the second dimension of employee productivity.

2. The right fit. Communicating expectations is crucial, but it must be balanced with the need to capitalize on individual talents. When employers begin to look at the effectiveness with which those expectations are carried out, they must move from the question, "Do we have enough people," to "Do we have the right people?"

In workplaces that stress conformance rather than individual excellence, disengaged employees who do just enough to achieve minimum expectations tend to be evaluated more favorably than those who value innovation and instinctively seek to improve the system.

But as Gallup's studies of successful U.S. workplaces have revealed, top performers tend to use different methods to achieve the same desired outcomes. Employees must be given enough freedom to do their jobs in ways that complement their natural gifts.

At first glance, Chinese employees seem to feel they're allowed to take advantage of their talents; about 6 in 10 agree with the item, "At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day." Curiously though, just 4 in 10 of 18- to 24-year-old employees agree. What factors affect these ratings, and how should we interpret the age difference?

Some might think workers who don't agree with this item -- especially young workers -- simply need more training to match the requirements of their jobs. This may be true in some cases, but more often Gallup finds this item is about freedom -- employees who are free to focus on outcomes rather than dutifully attend to specific prescribed processes are more likely to say make best use of their talents at work. Younger employees who grew up in an era when China was beginning to shed its extreme conservatism may be more likely to recognize they lack this freedom.

Next week's column will look at Chinese employees' responses regarding the remaining two drivers of productivity: being recognized for good work, and feeling their supervisor cares about them as a person.