Workplace Productivity Hits Rock Bottom on Afternoons and Fridays

New study aimed at evaluating objective computer usage metrics as a proxy for workplace productivity using RSIGuard, an ergonomics monitoring software.

A new approach to evaluate workplace productivity during the workweek can help optimize work arrangements to promote sustainability for the benefit of employers, employees, and the environment.

Most office workers agree that they tend to feel less productive toward the end of the day and the end of each work week (). Now, a team of researchers at Texas A&M University has found objective evidence of this phenomenon in action.

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‘Workers’ output varied depending on the time of day, with reduced work efficiency observed in the afternoons, especially on Fridays. #WorkplaceProductivity #Work-LifeBalance #EmployeeBurnout’

A recent interdisciplinary study at the Texas A&M School of Public Health used a novel method of data collection to show that employees are less active and more prone to mistakes on afternoons and Fridays, with Friday afternoons representing the lowest point of worker productivity. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.

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The researchers looked at the computer usage metrics of 789 in-office employees at a large energy company in Texas over two years — January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018.

Most studies of worker productivity use employee self-reports, supervisory evaluations, or wearable technology, but these can be subjective and invasive. Instead, they used computer usage metrics — things like typing speed, typing errors, and mouse activity — to get objective, non-invasive data on computer work patterns.

The team then compared computer usage patterns across different days of the week and times of the day to see what kinds of patterns emerged.

They found that computer use increased during the week, then dropped significantly on Fridays. People typed more words and had more mouse movement, mouse clicks, and scrolls every day from Monday through Thursday, then less of this activity on Friday. In addition, computer use decreased every afternoon, especially on Friday afternoons ().

This aligns with similar findings that the number of tasks workers complete increases steadily from Monday through Wednesday, then decreases on Thursday and Friday. To start, flexible work arrangements, such as hybrid work or a four-day work week, may lead to happier and more productive employees.

As of May 2023, about 60 percent of full-time, paid workers in the United States worked entirely on-site. The remainder either worked remotely or had a hybrid arrangement that involved a combination of remote and on-site work. In addition, many employees have a compressed workweek in which they work longer hours, but on fewer days.

Other studies have found that those who work from home or work fewer days have less stress from commuting, workplace politics, and other factors, and thus have more job satisfaction ().

These arrangements give workers more time with their families and thus reduce work-family conflicts, and give them more time for exercise and leisure activities, which have been shown to improve both physical and mental health.

Not only that, but flexible work arrangements could boost the bottom line in other ways, such as reductions in electricity use, carbon footprint, and carbon dioxide emissions. Now these study findings can further help business leaders to identify strategies that optimize work performance and workplace sustainability.

References:

Individual and Organizational Strategies for Promoting Work–Life Balance for Sustainable Workforce: A Systematic Literature Review from Pakistan - (https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11552)
Examining workweek variations in computer usage patterns: An application of ergonomic monitoring software - (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0287976)
Potential Benefits of Remote Working on Urban Mobility and Related Environmental Impacts: Results from a Case Study in Italy - (https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/1/607)

Source-Eurekalert