Despite the surge in workplace flexibility, productivity levels – and employees – suffer when they stretch their hours: survey
Flexibility. It’s been a huge focus in the last few years, especially with the rise of remote work and the drive for work-life balance.
But that flexibility – in terms of the location and scheduling of work – has also meant many people are working “after hours,” in the morning or evening.
And that may have a negative impact on productivity.
That’s according to a recent survey by Slack, which found about two out of every five desk workers (37%) are logging on outside of their company’s standard hours at least weekly, and more than half (54%) of them say it’s because they feel pressured to, not because they choose to.
Of note: Those who feel obligated to work after-hours register 20% lower productivity scores than those who log off at the end of the standard workday.
They also report:
- 2.1x worse work-related stress
- 1.7x lower satisfaction with their overall working environment
- 2x greater burnout
On the flip side, employees who work outside of standard hours by choice — to better suit their schedule or to pursue personal ambitions — report no negative impacts and even have a slight uptick in their wellness and productivity scores, found Slack.
Both groups say around 70% of their time spent working is productive but those who work after hours are 50% more likely to say their productivity is blocked by competing priorities compared to those who log a standard workday.
There's an opportunity to reframe productivity to be more about quality versus quantity, according to Christina Janzer, SVP of research and analytics at Slack.
“People who work after hours by choice don't actually show decreases in productivity, which I think is really important, so [it’s] this idea that you're working after hours because you're really excited or because you're really ambitious, or because you have a flexible schedule.”
However, those who do work after hours are 50% more likely to say that they have too many priorities, she says.
“What the data is suggesting is that people are just trying to do too much. And feeling like you always need to be catching up is really what's getting in the way of being more productive.”
There’s also the issue of time of day: some people may be productive from 8 am to 3 pm, but then see their productivity levels fall towards the end of the day, says Janzer.
“You're not going to have the same productivity level every single hour in a 24-hour day. If I were to work after hours, I'm not going to be as productive because I'm tired or because that's just not how my brain functions. So I think that contributes to this idea that after-hours work doesn't necessarily lead to more productivity.”
Potential downsides to flexible work
The Slack results are not that surprising to Scott Schieman, professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto, but do reinforce his own research and that of others.
“It makes sense that it would reduce productivity if you're [working] after hours either because of having too much work or overload or time pressure to do the work, or the after-hours work is intersecting with other role-related responsibilities.”
The results also highlight the question of “normal” work hours these days, especially for salaried workers post-pandemic, he says.
“Once things got more flexible, some people told me they like working in the morning, other people like working later at night. And so once you have that latitude around preferences, it's not necessarily ‘after-hours’ work.”
On the one hand, a lot of people love that because they can have more control over when they start and finish work, says Schieman.
“The downside, though, is always related to ‘work creep’ or almost like ‘work inflation’… it's just hard to know when you're actually clocking out… so the flexibility almost comes with a hidden downside, or maybe it's not so hidden, and that is ‘We're giving you the flexibility to work, the flex place, you can work where you want,’ but the timing becomes a little more ambiguous.”
Too many meetings, too few breaks
Also of concern? More than one in four desk workers (27%), including more than half (55%) of executives, say they spend too much time in meetings. A similar share (25%) of all desk workers, including 43% of executives, say they spend too much time dealing with email, according to Slack.
On average, desk workers say that the ideal amount of focus time is around four hours a day, and more than two hours a day in meetings is the tipping point at which most workers feel overburdened by meetings.
Half of desk workers surveyed (50%) also say they rarely or never take breaks during the workday. These workers are 1.7x more likely to experience burnout, found the survey of 10,333 workers in the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Japan and the U.K.
Their break-taking counterparts, on the other hand, show 62% higher scores for work-life balance, 43% greater ability to manage stress and anxiety, 43% greater overall satisfaction, and 13% higher scores for productivity.
“I think that there is a stigma around taking breaks in that taking a break is the same as slacking off. We have a lot to do to unwind that stigma,” says Janzer. “When you think about the power of taking a break through the day in order to recharge, so that you can come back and do that... really important focus work, you start to understand why breaks are so important.”
In addition, with the rise of remote work, the social elements that can come with breaks are gone for many workers, says Schieman.
“Even though a lot of people dismiss or even ridicule the watercooler, it actually — especially in an era or an age when people are more isolated from each other — just seems like work might be the last coordinated, organized social place for a lot of people. And even if you don't love your coworker, some of those little conversations are meaningful.”
Boosting productivity: time management
When it comes to boosting productivity, one of the big takeaways for HR leaders and professionals is to help people figure out the most important things to focus on that they actually can accomplish during the eight-hour workday, says Janzer.
In addition, many people experience an afternoon slump and are less productive then, so they should plan their day to make sure important work isn’t done then, she says.
The Slack survey found that the most productive people use time management strategies and are:
- 1.6x more likely to block time to complete specific tasks
- 1.7x more likely to only check email at specific times
- 2.2x more likely to set focus timers.
And while it’s an employee’s responsibility to ask for help, there’s also an important role for managers here, says Janzer, “which is to be more proactive about talking to people about their schedules and talking to people about what are their priorities, and are they able to actually accomplish their priorities and goals? And to help people figure out ‘Are you taking a break? Do you have the appropriate amount of time on your calendar to focus? Are you spending too much time in meetings?’”
Boosting productivity: structuring flexibility
While, overall, flexibility is a good thing, people need to experiment with their work styles and what is going to be conducive to having their most productive day, she says. For example, some people might take a break during the afternoon to take care of their kids, but then work in the evening.
“Creating guardrails, creating structure within that flexibility is really important, and being really clear as managers about what are your priorities, what are you expected to accomplish, but giving people flexibility to figure out what is the best way for them as an individual to accomplish that.”
Overall, it’s important to recognize that productivity and employee wellness are clearly linked, though they are often treated as separate conversations, says Janzer.
“If you actually help people have great work-life balance, if you help people manage their stress and anxiety, you actually help them be more productive.”
However, it’s not an easy time for managers, according to Schieman.
“They’ve experienced a lot more stress, and a lot of them don't want to do it anymore, because of the coordinated flexibility or autonomy. I mean, there's all the different components of flexibility, like where people work and when people work and the combinations of those things that somebody ultimately has to coordinate, especially if teams are more interdependent.”
Boosting productivity: providing support
Another consideration: Do employees have the resources they need to be fully productive? Schieman’s research has involved tracking how people feel about their perceptions of conditions at their workplace, in relation to productivity.
In 2014, 88% of full-time employees said they agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “Conditions on my job allow me to be about as productive as I could be.” And in 2018, that held around 88%, according to the General Social Survey from the University of Chicago.
But in 2022, Schieman found that number dropped to 78%, though he adds that this is an overall aggregate — not just for those working from home.
“I think it's worse in the U.S. and I suspect a lot of that might be because of the great resignation and all the churn where you have turnover just really undermines your capacity, especially if you're tied to other people in the work,” he says.
“Usually, burnout is a combination of just feeling overloaded and under supported or there's insufficient resources that are behind that perception.”
Boosting productivity: encouraging breaks
With many workers saying the ideal amount of focus time is around four hours a day, with up to two hours of meeting, there's an opportunity for managers to play a bigger role in helping people take a look at their schedules and calendars, says Janzer, “and make sure that they are supported to do the best work of their careers with what's on their plate and how they actually are able to accomplish that throughout their day.”
Looking to better understand the issue, Slack found that half of its employees were not taking a break during the day. So, it focused on encouraging and supporting people to take those much-needed breaks, along with having executives show support and finding fun ways to remind people to take breaks, she says.
“We also learned about the importance of planning and actually scheduling that right in the calendar, because you forget if it's not something that you have built into your routine.”
It’s also really important to explain to people why breaks are important, and not just say they are, according to Janzer.
“Understanding the ‘why’ really helps... Back to the stigma, taking a break feels very luxurious, and it’s [about understanding] ‘OK, yeah, so that might make me feel better,’” she says.
“So when you marry ‘This is for work-life balance and for your ability to manage stress’ with the fact that it's also good for productivity and it's also good business, I think that makes that story so much more compelling.”
