Is a shorter workday the secret to a healthier and more productive life? And can fewer hours worked improve your work performance and overall company efficiency?
Imagine leaving work a little earlier today. How would you feel? Excited and motivated to finish all your daily tasks before leaving? The prospect of a free afternoon would probably make your work go faster. Now imagine leaving work early every single day!
The cost of long working hours
Today’s professional world is rediscovering organizational principles. Companies and employees increasingly realize that traditional organizational methods don’t always work – many employees face burnout or stress-related illnesses. Boredom is part of daily life in many workplaces. As a result, companies are increasingly exploring new ways of working that allow them to adapt to a more flexible, digital, and open social and economic context.
Organizations and employees are experimenting with remote work, longer vacations, or regular daily breaks. Among these trends, one is becoming more and more common – reducing working hours.
Why do we work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week?
The eight-hour workday became a standard for workers in the 20th century. We usually start around 9 a.m. and finish between 5 and 7 p.m., depending on the length of the lunch break. But why exactly eight hours?
British textile manufacturer Robert Owen introduced the slogan in 1817: “Eight hours of work, eight hours of recreation, eight hours of rest.” The idea behind this slogan, which symbolized a balanced workday, was to raise more productive and healthier employees. At a time when working 12 to 15 hours six days a week was common, this was certainly a step in the right direction. However, times have changed.
Shorter workdays as a biological necessity
The idea of working 8 consecutive hours a day is completely at odds with how our bodies function. The human body cannot remain productive for such long periods, mainly due to natural daily biological cycles.
How our bodies respond throughout the day depends on many factors, such as hormones, diet, and exposure to daylight. Researchers studying these factors have discovered that we have a very specific biological rhythm, which makes us more productive at certain times – both mentally and physically.
For example, humans experience two productivity peaks per day. The first occurs in the late morning, as the brain gradually activates after waking and reaches peak performance before noon. Then comes a period between 3 and 4 p.m., when the brain is less productive. Later, around 5–6 p.m., the body gradually reactivates and reaches maximum physical productivity.
In short – your brain works best in the morning, low-concentration tasks are best handled in early afternoon, and physical tasks are more efficiently completed later in the afternoon. Some studies also suggest that peak creativity occurs in the evening, around 9 p.m.
With a typical office schedule from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and a lunch break from 12 to 1 p.m., we are out of sync with our natural rhythm. First, we take a lunch break right when our brain is most active. Then we spend nearly a third of the day (from 1 to 4 p.m.) working—when our bodies are least productive. Only the morning aligns with our natural peak performance.
What is the ideal workday?
More and more studies show that humans can focus on intellectual work only for a limited time! Some research mentions 50 consecutive minutes, while others suggest up to 1.5 hours. Overall, results indicate that we are intellectually productive for about 6 hours a day, provided we take regular breaks.
Rather than working long hours every day, it is more productive to have a shorter workday filled with intense focus. Instead of spending the whole day in the office, it’s better to shorten working hours, intersperse tasks with breaks, and focus work primarily on the morning and early hours.
