Is productivity linked to the time of day?

Employee engagement and productivity are two topics that many businesses strive to achieve. However, these process are easier said than done and often takes a great amount of effort.

One of the main issues with getting your workforce productive at the same time is that everyone operates at different speeds and takes varying approaches to complete tasks. While some employees work well under stress and deadlines, others struggle and need a more calming influence.

This said, one way to improve employee engagement is to work out when your workforce is most productive and set deadlines and important tasks during this time period. By taking advantage of specific times of the day, employers are able to improve output.

Working out the optimum time for employee engagement was recently the focus of research. The Creative Group polled more than 200 marketing executives to find out when they felt the most productive.

According to the results, 63 per cent of respondents were most productive in the morning, while 72 per cent felt that they were more creative before lunchtime.

When these figures are broken down further, the most productive time of the day is between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m which received 32 per cent of the vote. Moreover, the most creative period of the workday was between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m, which was also reflected by 32 per cent of participants.

Results suggest the worst time for most creativity and productivity was between 8 p.m. and 10.p.m. Just 1 per cent felt this was good time for creativity, while no respondent believed this was an appropriate time for productivity.

Diane Domeyer, executive director of The Creative Group, explained that these results would be useful for any businesses wanting to track HR performance data.

“Creative professionals are known for being night owls but, the truth is, many actually perform at their peak in the morning, when they feel refreshed and relatively free of distractions,” she said.

“Starting the day on a strong note can mean the difference between getting ahead or falling behind at work, and avoiding long hours at the office.”