Pilot Projects: Companies Shorten Working Hours on a Daily and Weekly Basis

During an eight-hour workday, the average employee spends just under 3 hours working, specifically 2 hours and 53 minutes, reports Business Insider. According to a survey conducted in 2016 among 1989 office workers in the United Kingdom, the rest of the working time is spent reading news, ‘killing’ time on social media, socializing with colleagues, looking for new jobs, and similar activities.

The research showed that due to long working hours, it is difficult to get the best out of employees, while other studies have shown that people can concentrate for 20 minutes at a time, and as the workday approaches its end, worker efficiency decreases.

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It seems that the saying ‘practice makes perfect’ is true, but only in cases where people engage in that ‘practice’ voluntarily. The research indicates that various experts do not spend hours honing their craft, but rather only a few hours perfecting their skills.

The same psychological principle applies to routine tasks such as writing reports and compiling tables. In both cases, the human brain has a finite amount of cognitive resources that can be dedicated to creative thoughts.

People who push their productivity to the limit risk adopting bad habits, such as spending more hours a day on social media.

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An increasing number of companies have decided to shorten the duration of the workweek, so instead of five eight-hour workdays, many employees work four days a week for eight hours each.

Amazon is currently conducting a pilot project testing shortened working hours on a daily and weekly basis. In September of last year, they began an experiment with a 30-hour workweek, where several employees started their workday at 10 AM and finished at 2 PM, with their workweek lasting from Monday to Thursday.

The test group received 75 percent of their usual salary, but still had all benefits. Although the company has not yet released any data on how the move has affected employee productivity and quality of life, psychologists believe that employees feel less tired and are less faced with stress.