In today’s competitive business world, a productive workplace is what makes us stand out; no one can deny the importance of it. However, there are many misconceptions about workplace productivity, and its paramount businesses know the truth in order to succeed. In light of this, we have gone through some surprising facts about workplace productivity to help open your eyes to the truth surrounding it.
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Tuesday is the most productive day of the week
An Accountemps study revealed that Tuesday has consistently taken top honours for the most productive day of the week every year since they started surveying in 1987. So, if you have a big project to complete, or a backlog of tasks to catch up on, save it for Tuesday!
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Most employees have mentally checked out from 4pm- 6pm
Accountemps study also revealed that between 4pm and 6pm you are at your least productive time in any workday. Between 10am and noon are supposed to be your best hours, however, this may depend on whether you are a night owl or early bird. Finding the times that work best for you, and arranging your work schedule around this will boost your productivity.
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Workers spend 25% of their time reading and answering emails
Mastering email productivity can be hard, however, it is a crucial skill in the present day. The constant interruption and distraction from trying to multitask dramatically lowers your productivity and disrupts your ability to enter a state of flow.
The number of hours we spend on email is increasing, so it is paramount we learn how to be productive whilst doing so. It’s all about working smarter not harder. One strategy recommended to use is to only check your emails at set points in the day, for example, in the morning, before lunch and at the end of the day.
If you still find yourself spending too much time reading and responding to emails, you might want to ask yourself these questions:
- What is the true importance of the email?
- Have you picked your email time wisely?
- Have you used email efficiency tools?
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Productivity nosedives after 40 hours
Studies have shown that after 40 hours, work output decreases by 50%. In a country where the typical work week is 46 hours, it is clear the way to increase productivity is to produce more within set hours, rather than working at the same rate for longer.
Back in 1817, Welsh activist Robert Owned coined the phrase “Eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hour rest” after discovering that such long days were both brutal and unsustainable. When comparing the long days factory workers used to work, to eight hour days, the phrase put into practice proved to increase productivity of the workforce. However, as new studies are being done, we are being shown that the average worker is in fact only productive for around three hours a day!
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Travel is a short road to unproductivity
Busy professionals always have good intentions when it comes to working whilst travelling for work and in reality, it can turn out to not be as productive as planned.
Luckily, there are some handy tools that have helped the mobile workforce be more productive when travelling for work. Microsoft 365 is an example of a great tool that gives employees the flexibility they need when working remotely. It allows them to work out of the office regardless of whether they have an internet connection or not, and syncs up when they next connect to Wi-Fi. This is especially useful when using ‘Teams’ a component of Microsoft 365, where employees can work on projects together whilst on the go.
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Working for 90 minutes followed by a 20 minute breaks allows us to be more productive
We all strive to perform our best when at work. By not taking a break, your productivity, mental well-being and overall performance at work will begin to suffer. Similarly to when a runner starts to flag after a few miles, we need a breaks to continue working to our full potential.
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71% of workers believe they would be more productive should their employer have a flexible working policy
Businesses of all different sizes often find themselves asking the question ‘is a flexible working policy a good idea?’ and remain sceptical about it. Working from home has got itself a bit of an unfair reputation, that if an employee works from home, they will skive. However, the facts don’t lie - working from home works but it requires trust. Technology is changing the way we work and enabling workers to complete tasks and attend meetings wherever they are in the world.
By 2025 millennials will comprise three-quarters of the workforce, and are looking for a better work-life balance. Working from home helps them achieve this and saves money on office space too, so businesses are beginning to look to change their policies. Hosted Workspaces are an option many businesses use to allow workers to access their desktop, applications and documents from anywhere, at any time with security and compliance built in from the start.
If you’re struggling with the freedom of working from home, our blog goes through 6 tips for working from home effectively.
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Meetings are a productivity killer
Did you know each week, people spend on average 5 hours 3 minutes in meetings and 4 hours 15 minutes preparing for them? That is around a whole day being devoted to meetings!
37% of meetings are also valued as unproductive. Meetings are essential, but it is clear that there are some changes that need to take place. Keep your meetings short, engaging and prevent employees from bringing in gadgets to achieve better outcomes.
A productive workplace will not only benefit your workforce, but your customers as well. Armed with these surprising workplace productivity facts, you can make the necessary changes in your workplace for the better of your business.
