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Benefits August 17, 2010
Late Afternoon Seen as Office Dead Time
August 17, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The afternoon “blahs” will apparently get you every time while you are at work – at least according to a new Accountemps survey.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
A news release from the accounting and finance staffing firm about the poll of senior managers said the 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. time frame is the biggest “culprit” (37%) when it comes to the least productive hours of the day for their workers. The 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. block is second at 28%.
So when is the work flying off employees’ desks? The news release said a mere 4% of managers pinpointed the 10 a.m. to noon time frame as being the most wasteful.
“All professionals experience lulls in productivity, but the late afternoon, in particular, may not be a good time to hold brainstorming sessions or take on highly challenging projects,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps, in the news release. “High-performing individuals are typically attuned to their most productive times of the day and, when possible, schedule their critical tasks during those hours.”
The survey was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,000 senior managers at companies with 20 or more employees.