How To Fit Five Days Of Work Into Four
The average office workers spends a shocking 1,700 hours in front of a computer screen each year, a 2018 poll found.
The study of more than 2,000 workers revealed that staff will spend an average of six and a half hours sitting at their computer or laptop each day.
However, not only can all this time spent in front of a computer lead to both mental and physical health problems, it seems workers struggle to stay productive for these extended periods of time too.
For decades, many employers have tried to make their staff work for as many hours as possible, but with growing research showing that less can often be more, forward-thinking business owners are looking for ways to boost productivity and reduce screen time.
If you’d like to follow suit and reduce your team’s working hours without hindering productivity, read on to learn how to fit five days of work into four.
Stagger days off
One thing that prevents many business owners from embracing the four-day work week is a fear that the company will be unable to function on the day that employees are off. The solution? Stagger your workers’ days off so that only a fraction of your team is absent each day.
Eliminate distractions
If there are members of your team who struggle to concentrate, work with them to identify the source of these distractions and find ways to resolve the problem. Whether they’d work better in a quieter corner of the office or they need encouragement to take a break from work email, there are plenty of things you can do to reduce the number of disruptions in your workplace.
Prioritise and reward meaningful work
Research suggests that the average employee is only really productive for three hours a day. The rest of the time is often spent answering non-essential emails, trawling the internet, and distractedly flicking between different tasks. Rather than trying to fill your workers’ days with ‘busy work’, emphasise the importance of focusing on meaningful tasks that actually make a difference to the company.
Flexible working can be a healthy compromise
If a four-day work week simply isn’t feasible for your business, flexible working hours or work-from-home days could be a healthy and happy compromise. Your employees will be able to pick working hours that suit them and avoid the rush hour commute if necessary. You’ll still have access to your team five days a week, but the workplace satisfaction and productivity of each worker is likely to rise.
