Which is not among the three key factors determining whether one will like another person?

High-performing employees are more than biologically-gifted outliers.

They are phenomenal workers because apart from raw talent and skill...

They use various other factors to their advantage. 

From prioritizing the pursuit of happiness to treating environments as part of their brain...

Top performers work in ways that go against everything hustle culture preaches.

But, what exactly are those ways? 

What are the factors affecting employee performance?

Let's find out.

8 Factors Affecting Employee Performance

1. Well-Being

Does success make you happy, or does happiness produce success? 

Shawn Actor, the author of The Happiness Advantage and a Harvard University alum, has a clear answer for us. 

He says, “When we are happy—when our mindset and mood are positive—we are smarter, more motivated, and thus more successful. Happiness is the center, and success revolves around it.” 

But Shawn’s not alone in believing so. 

A recent publication in the Harvard Business Review pointed to experimental data making similar claims.

It suggested that jumps in employee well-being can increase productivity by 10%. 

Which is not among the three key factors determining whether one will like another person?

Build Happier Teams with SmartTask

Starting in 2013, LinkedIn underwent a massive growth phase...

Which culminated with Microsoft acquiring the professional networking platform in 2016. 

But these three years were not easy for LinkedIn. 

From navigating heavy stock volatility to preparing for the acquisition: execs had a lot to figure out. 

Employee retention also started becoming a problem. 

Then came 2015. 

LinkedIn launched an employee recognition program called Bravo! with one principle in mind.   

Social support trumps most other factors when fostering happy and successful employees.

The program's premise was simple: one employee could recognize another for doing great work. Those who were recognized for their performance got access to personalized rewards. 

The results?

Bravo! awards helped improve retention for both existing employees and new hires in just 18 months. 

3. Cognitive Biases

Our brain is a minefield of cognitive biases...

Prone to all kinds of miscalculations and poor predictions. 

We're bad at estimating how long a task will take (planning fallacy).

Our sense of priorities is off (the mere urgency effect), causing us to choose tasks that seem urgent over those that are actually important. 

We're also unreasonably committed to things we've already invested energy on (sunken cost fallacy), even when giving up is the rational thing to do.

But despite these faults, our brains come together to achieve some pretty impressive feats. 

Transparent and collaborative task management helps a great deal in furthering that end. 

Tool Tip:- SmartTask lets you manage tasks in SmartTask lets you manage tasks in multiple project views including List, Board, Timeline, and Calendar.

Which is not among the three key factors determining whether one will like another person?

4. Environment Design

As an employee, your mind is arguably your best resource. 

But what even is your mind? 

Is it just a consequence of your brain's biological whoopie-doodly-do, or does it also extend to your environment? 

According to Andy Clark (philosopher) and David Chalmers (cognitive scientist)... it sure does. 

The two chaps explain this phenomenon in their Extended Mind Thesis.

They argue that your external environment integrates with your internal cognition and gives rise to an extended cognitive system. 

Thereby, tweaking your environment can have a similar effect to eating foods that are good for your brain: the sharpening of your mind.  

Even something as simple as placing your desk in a room with ample natural light and ventilation can make you better at handling cognitively challenging tasks. 

On the other hand, if your environment is working against you, say you're in a noisy, dimly-lit workspace... 

Your performance will take a hit.  

5. Time Management

Good ol' Parkinson's Law states that work expands to fill the time allotted for completion. 

Pair this with our brain's planning fallacy, and voila...

You can see how poor time management can derail your performance. 

When you are not prudent with your time, you spend too much of it on tasks that contribute too little to your real goals. 

But what happens when you use your time well? And how do you do that?

How do you use Parkinson's law to your advantage? 

Well, there's no one-size-fits-all answer here... 

But it's a good idea to start tracking your time before you apply interventions. 

Set appropriate time constraints for yourself when performing tasks, track time, and study the data you gather. 

Tool Tip - Utilize a time-tracker to monitor how long all your tasks take

Which is not among the three key factors determining whether one will like another person?

Save a Day a Week with SmartTask

Try your work easily in one place

6. Autonomy

We’re all motivated by extrinsic factors. 

The possibility of a bigger payday, a more generous bonus, an excellence award...

All of these things prime us to optimize our performance.  

But that is just half the story. 

Part of our motivation to do things comes from within.

Self-Determination Theory states that optimal work performance depends on the fulfillment of three psychological needs:-

1. Autonomy,

2. Competence, and 

3. Relatedness. 

So, a workspace that:-

  • lets employees take independent decisions (without micro-management), 
  • places them in correct roles, 
  • and fosters a culture with meaningful interactions...

Ultimately creating high-performing individuals and teams.

7. Communication

Remote teams are the norm in 2022. 

Instead of inhabiting common physical spaces, employees now co-exist on the internet. 

Team communication can become overwhelming and confusing in this new way of working.

With unclear protocols about which communication channel to use for what... 

The remote workforce may spend too much time staying connected and constantly checking everything from email to Slack for updates. 

High-performing teams are doing things differently.   

Instead of being hyper-connected and always available...

Folks in high-performing teams are embracing a slower, more thoughtful approach to communication. 

They are:- 

  • having fewer meetings, 
  • adopting work management tools that make communication asynchronous & centralized, and 
  • using real-time video and chat only to tackle urgent, complex problems. 

Tool Tip:-SmartTask is built for thoughtful, asynchronous communication. There's chat and video-conferencing too, if you need them ;)

Which is not among the three key factors determining whether one will like another person?

8. Perception of Meaning 

Ever wonder how soldiers are always prepared to fight for their country, even when it costs them their life? 

What about serial inventors who keep iterating even after hundreds of failed prototypes? 

Does a similar force drive med students to persevere through years of sleeplessness, economic difficulties, and heavy studying? 

What's common between dedicated professionals is that they are very clear about their why. 

Soldiers are protecting their country.

Serial inventors are chasing a Eureka moment that will change history.

Med students are... well, training to save countless lives. 

They are all pursuing things that are deeply meaningful to them. 

Simon Sinek captures this idea in his book: Start With Why. 

He says,

"Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress: Working hard for something we love is called passion."

The takeaway?

Passionate employees – who find their work meaningful and fulfilling – outperform stressed-out employees working just for a paycheck. 

Period.

SmartTask: Your Unfair Advantage

Which is not among the three key factors determining whether one will like another person?

Want to know another factor influencing employee performance... 

Something that's seldom addressed?

The current business landscape, fueled by hypergrowth, is a gunfight...

And you won't win here if you keep using knives. 

Optimizing for the 8 factors we've discussed above does make a difference... 

But the difference flatlines after a point. 

The truth is... 

There's only so much you can optimize for without a kickass task management software 

Thankfully, we live in a world where SmartTask can be the unfair advantage you need…

And it’s free forever. 

SmartTask Features

  • Multiple Views: Each team prefers looking at data differently. With SmartTask, they can choose between Board view, List view, Timeline, Calendar view, and more.
  • Portfolios: Get a high-level overview of multiple projects in one view.
  • Time-tracking: Time reporting and estimates help understand resource utilization, budget, and cost implications.
  • Workload view: Plan and allocate resources effectively such that no team member is under-utilized or overworked. It also helps you predict resource requirements.
  • Task Management: Set task dependencies, due dates, priority, and tags.
  • Comments & File Sharing: Share important information, attach files, and give feedback via comments. Do all of this on the task itself—no need to keep switching windows.
  • Newsfeed: Save hours of standup meetings with feed updates and automated Check-Ins.
  • Team Communication: Seamless real-time communication with individuals (or teams) via chats, voice-recorded messages, and video meetings.
  • Automation: Automate repetitive project tasks for better project performance.
  • CRM & Sales: Visualize sales analytics - estimated sales, sales funnel, and user-wise analytics. Move inquiries across multiple stages, have clarity on past conversations, and plan future action points.
  • White-Label: The white-labeling feature lets you brand SmartTask’s platform. Therefore, inviting your clients to your online workplace won't be a problem anymore.
  • Custom Analytics: Once you're done with the project, you can check key performance metrics and download a report for evaluation and future reference.
  • Reminders: Alerts, notifications, and reminders to keep teams on track.
  • Pre-made templates: Expert-designed templates to help you kick things off straight away. 
  • 1000+ integrations: Seamless integrations to help you achieve almost everything from a single platform.

Available on almost every platform: Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Which of the following factors will make two people more likely to develop interpersonal attraction and friendship?

Which of the following factors would make two people more likely to develop interpersonal attraction and friendship? Correct Answers: They are both kind and trustworthy.

When our behavior agrees with our attitude the attitude is called?

When our behavior agrees with our attitude, the attitude is called simple. An example would be refusing to take a medication. out of a sincere belief that it is ineffective. When our behavior contradicts our attitude, the attitude is called complex.

What term do we use to describe the tendency to agree to do things requested by others?

Compliance is changing one's behavior in response to a request to do so, such as a friend asking you to give them a ride. It's not the same as obedience (for example, a student following a school rule) because the request came from someone who doesn't have authority over you. Conformity is more subtle.

Which of the following are some results of the what is beautiful is good stereotype?

What are some of the results of the "what is beautiful is good" stereotype? Attractive people are thought to be more intelligent. Attractive people are paid more for doing the same work. Attractive people are given lighter sentences for crimes.