Gallup’s Work and Education Survey found less than 40% of the workforce in the US employed full-time work just 40 hours per week. The national average is 47 hours per week; with 39% of those surveyed working more than 50 hours per week. Combine this with the fact that study after study have shown that working more than 50 hours in the office can be virtually pointless, and it’s becoming clear that employees are working more and potentially getting less done.
To get the most out of employees without burnout, maybe it’s time we seriously consider the necessity of taking a break from the office and getting some fresh air.
The 6 Hour Workday is Now the Norm in Sweden
While workers here in the US are stuck in a 9-5 cycle of doom and boredom, Sweden’s largest firms are leading the way towards a more productive, focused workday. Shortening the workday from 8 hours to 6 actually helps boost productivity. Think about the amount of time spent by employees chatting about non-work related topics. How much time is spent at lunch? Are your teams really productive all 8 hours of the workday?
The Atlantic pointed out that there is a true art-form to not working at work. Employees have become masters at pursuing activities, like online joe rodeoshopping, throughout the workday that take away from productive time. In fact, many employees in the US are productive for less than 6 of the 8 hours they spend in the office. So aren’t we actually already at a 6-hour workday? Let’s make it official and focus employees in a shorter workday with fewer interruptions.
Quality Company Retreats Foster Trust and Cooperation
An effective corporate retreat is an incredibly way to build connectivity between your team and open fresh dialogues between management and staff at all levels. Kelsey Meyer published an Entrepreneur article in which she discussed her company’s use of “Nightmare Cards” to allow team members to share work-related stressors or frustration in a supportive environment. The team, as a group, discusses the best way to overcome the concerns shared by the team, allowing for a lighter, more productive environment when they get back to the office.
43% of Waking Hours Spent in Front of Screens
The average American spends 43% of their waking hours staring at a screen according to Mary Meeker, an Internet Analyst at Morgan Stanley. When I read this in an article on one of my favorite sites, A Life of Productivity, my mind was blown. I started to add up the amount of time I spend in front of my computer and I’m embarrassed to admit my daily average.
So, I decided to purposely unplug for at least an hour a day. To me, unplugging means putting the phone on silent, turning off the computer and TV and just enjoying the world around me. Whether it’s a dip in the pool, or marking a few places off a list of the 25 best spots to travel in LA (my hometown), I found that getting reconnected with the real-world was hugely beneficial to my mental health and workplace productivity.