America is mired in a productivity crisis. According to the most recent government data, American workers’ productivity over the last decade has grown at less than half the annual rate it did between 2000 and 2007. Last year, our collective level of productivity edged up just 0.2 percent. Compare that to the late 1990s, when productivity jumped an average of 2.8 percent a year.
This lack of productivity growth is behind a host of economic ills, including our sluggish economy and stagnant wages. Employers can’t just crack the whip to get more out of their staffs. Half of all workers are already on the lookout for other jobs, according to Gallup.