The 9-to-5 schedule doesn't conform to most people's lives, or their workflows. Sitting in a chair for eight hours straight doesn't produce results; many studies have established the benefits of taking breaks during work. And the best hours for productivity vary from person to person. Not everyone is a morning person. One study found sleep deprivation costs employers an average of $2,000 a year per worker; other research suggests cognition peaks in the later afternoon. [...]
Many improvements on the standard 9-to-5 work schedule are measured in time, such as the four-day week or the six-hour day. The case for such an alternative, still rigorously scheduled, is that it's more humane and makes employees happier and more productive.
Indeed, research suggests working fewer hours in a given day or week can improve productivity and health and boost employee-retention rates. This year, a study in Sweden found that nurses who traded eight-hour shifts for six-hour ones took fewer sick days and thus provided better care. Another study found that people who worked 55 hours a week performed worse on cognitive tests than those who worked 40 hours. [...]
In that study, around 500 workers at an unnamed Fortune 500 company were given no set schedules. Some got in later; others left midday. Their schedules varied from day to day. They didn't work fewer hours, just different ones that better fit their lives. The system hinged on ongoing communication about how people worked; for months, facilitators led meetings with employees and their managers about how to get work done with varying schedules.
The employees who participated said their overall well-being improved, a feeling the researchers attributed to their having a sense of control over their lives. The quality of their work didn't suffer, either, the researchers found.
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