12 May 2008
Tuesday is the new Monday
Survey finds a shift in employees' productivity patterns.
Tuesdays have surpassed Mondays as being the most productive day of the week, a survey by employment law firm Penninsula has found.
The survey of 1,362 UK employers and workers found that Tuesday is the day the majority of respondents (48%) say they get the most work done. This compares to only 17%, who felt they work better on a Monday. Around the same amount (16%) worked best on Wednesday, and very few said they were most focused on Thursday or Friday (9% and 6% respectively).
Easy like Friday afternoon
The research also revealed that employees start getting into weekend mode at around 2pm on Friday afternoon – 76% said that after this time, very little or no work gets done.
These results show a remarkable difference to those of the same survey carried out in 2003, where the percentage of people working better on Monday was double (36%), while only 24% picked Tuesday, half of this year's figure, indicating a shift in our weekly working patterns.
Catching up after the weekend 
Deb Gibbons, (pictured right) head of employee relations at Penninsula says that workers spend Mondays catching up with colleagues and planning the week in meetings. "Mondays are also the day with greater sickness and absenteeism levels so as a consequence the real work gets started on a Tuesday," she says.
Gibbons suggests that in reality, employees' to-do lists, or diaries for the week probably look something like this:
Monday: Meetings, conference calls, catch up on emails, discuss weekend with colleagues.
Tuesday: Work, work, work. Get in early, work through lunch, put in some overtime.
Wednesday: Continue working but leave on time. Not feeling as motivated.
Thursday: Start thinking about the weekend.
Friday: Long lunch out of the office, liaise with friends and finalize weekend plans this afternoon.
Maintaining consistent productivity
All this lost productivity would no doubt send shivers down most managers' spines. How does it affect the bottom line? There are definitely things employees can do themselves to maintain the productivity and not have a mid-week panic attack. Gibbons suggests the following:
- Try to respond to email when it arrives rather than letting it build up.
- As common sense as it seems, delegate work to others where possible especially if you're up against a deadline.
- In the morning, prioritize your work, set an agenda, give yourself specific time slots to manage your work.
- To remain focused, take short breaks, grab yourself a coffee or get some fresh air – these help you feel refreshed and focused.
- Concentrate on the task in hand make sure it is finished before starting something new.
Have your say
But could could this lack of productivity be an effect of disengagement? Is the onus on employers to ensure that their staff really understand and feel the importance of staying focused on tasks and projects, regardless of which day of the week it is? Is there a disconnect here between employees and the overall company objectives, and ultimately the bottom line?
Share your thoughts on these issues with other comms practitioners by joining the Internal Comms Hub members' group on the Communicators' Network.
Other recommendations:
Research report: Driving a high performance corporate culture
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