Would a 6-Hour Workday Be Better?

by Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR

Monday, November 30th, 2015 - HR Daily Advisor

Some believe that the 8-hour workday is an arbitrary number of hours to work—one that needs adjusting. A number of companies in Sweden are switching to the 6-hour workday. But will it work? If so, would it work here?

When we think about the standard workday in the United States, the 8-hour norm actually is a relatively recent phenomenon. It didnft become truly standard until Henry Ford made it the norm in Ford factories. However, the push for a shorter workday started much earlier—back in the mid-1800s, as a product of the Industrial Revolution.

Companies have always sought to maximize productivity, and it used to be the norm to do so by expecting employees to work as many hours as possible—even up to 16 hours as a standard workday or 100 or more hours in a workweek. Today it seems obvious that this is not a sustainable model—no one remains productive for that many hours straight. But, it took many years and a few highly-visible organizational leaders to recognize and promote the idea of shorter workdays. They promoted the idea that working fewer hours could be done without sacrificing productivity because productivity over such a long period (16 hours) is greatly diminished anyway.

Now, we are perhaps again at a tipping point. An 8-hour workday was not set based on scientific evidence of maximized productivity. It has been popularized starting with Henry Ford, but that doesnft mean itfs the magical number of ideal productivity. Could we take this theory further? What is the ideal number of hours to work in a day to truly maximize efficiency? In the news lately, Sweden has been asking that very question. Many organizations there are experimenting with a 6-hour workday. Letfs take a look at the rationale behind this move.

Rationale Behind a 6-Hour Workday

For the companies in Sweden making the move to a 6-hour workday, the key rationale here is that people arenft actually productive for a full 8 hours as it is, so there might not actually be a productivity loss by reducing total hours worked if done properly.

Perhaps youfve heard of Parkinsonfs Law, gWork expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.h In short, this tells us that if we have 8 hours to get our work done for the day, we will take 8 hours to do it—even if it would not require that much time. As such, if we have 6 hours, we might still be able to get everything done—we would just do things more efficiently.

Put another way, most workers are not 100% efficient all day. Some estimates indicate that employers lose a couple hours of productivity every day to miscellaneous things that waste employee time. By shortening the workday, it shortens the amount of time that the employee has to remain focused on a specific task—which means there is less time available to waste. This heightens the sense of urgency to get things done (most of us are more efficient when a deadline approaches!) and allows productivity to not take the hit youfd imagine.

In fact, productivity is really the key here. Most of us intuitively know that we can create better output when we have high energy, and we can get more done in a short timeframe if we are at our most efficient. In other words, itfs the level of efficiency that drives productivity, not simply the hours worked, and increasing hours can actually decrease how efficient we are as our energy levels decrease. The theory goes, we should manage productivity by creating an environment where employees work when they have the highest energy levels, and doing so would maximize productivity, even while it reduces total hours worked. Win-win!

Tomorrow wefll discuss some of the benefits of a shortened workday, plus an introduction to a free, interactive webcast, Metrics that Matter for Managing Employees sponsored by Kronos.


The Wonders of a 6-Hour Workday

by Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR

Tuesday, December 1st, 2015 - HR Daily Advisor

In yesterdayfs Advisor we discussed the history of the 8-hour workday and some beliefs about how it might be modified with great success. Today wefll look at the potential benefits of the 6-hour workday.

Potential Benefits to a Shortened Workday

Organizations in Sweden are testing this theory of minimal productivity loss with a 6-hour workday and are finding it to be true in many cases. Theyfve found other benefits too, even in situations where the extra hours must be made up by other workers. A good example of this situation is for nurses. Patients need care around the clock, so a shorter workday for an individual means that more nurses will need to be brought on to cover all of the hours (productivity is not measured in output in these situations). This will only increase labor costs if everyone involved is salaried; if everyone is paid by the hour, it might actually reduce labor costs due to the reduction in overtime pay.  Either way, theyfre finding it also results in improvements in other areas that offset increased labor costs. In this example, one major benefit was found in improved patient care because the nursing staff was well-rested and better able to attend to patient needs.

There are many other potential benefits as well. Employees gain valuable time to spend outside of work. This can allow fewer work disruptions because it allows greater flexibility in appointment scheduling, child care, and more. It can even help with employee wellness because it can allow employees to be less stressed and can provide time for more activities to be done without encroaching on sleep—it can even allow time for fitness-related activities!

In turn, employees who are better-rested and less stressed make fewer mistakes and have better morale. This work environment can lead to fewer arguments or other conflicts. Overall, employees are happier, have higher energy levels, and have fewer workplace accidents. Over time, it can even result in less turnover (thus lowering the associated costs) and can make it easier to recruit new employees when necessary. Employers can also see other direct improvements to the bottom line in the form of reduced absences and fewer breaks.

Is this something your organization would benefit from? Some view the 6-hour workday as a radical change, but others are saying that it makes perfect sense and could be an ideal path forward. Wefre all waiting to see how it plays out in Sweden to see what happens next.

Wouldnft it be nice if setting the number of hours in a workweek was your only problem? If only that were the case.

With so much jargon, so many acronyms, and a plethora of solutions, itfs not easy to figure out what solutions will help you organize, streamline and improve employee-related processes. Wouldnft it be nice to simply bypass the buzzwords and look at whatfs really important−the key metrics that your organization needs to boost productivity, streamline management, and reduce compliance risks?

Fortunately therefs timely help in the form of a free new webcast—Metrics that Matter for Managing Employees. In just 60 minutes, on Tuesday, December 15, youfll learn everything you need to know about whatfs really important when it comes to HR metrics.