Comments on: Is a day of rest good for productivity?

Question: Is a day of rest good for productivity?

JaySunSee — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:19:22 -0800

I've heard of studies that having a day of rest in the week (like Sunday) actually increases productivity than had they worked all seven days. Does anybody know of any studies or statistics to support this claim?

By: peachy

peachy — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:55:29 -0800

There's plenty of research on burnout. The theory is the same--too much work without adequate rest results in reduced productivity.

By: backseatpilot

backseatpilot — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:57:18 -0800

Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work

That article is concerned specifically with the video game industry, but I think it presents some data that you'll find useful if you're looking for data about white collar jobs.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 07:07:04 -0800

Surely this is simple common sense? Anyone who works seven days a week will eventually work more slowly, make mistakes and end up being pretty difficult to work with. Rest and relaxation is a psychological necessity, and from a purely mercenary point of view, you get better quality work out of people who are well rested and appreciated, rather than seen as interchangeable ball bearings you get rid of when they're finished with.

From a humanistic point of view, there's more to life than 'productivity'. And 'productivity' is a relative thing. You can produce tons of poor quality work if you're exhausted, don't care about your job and haven't had a holiday in months. Or you can produce really good stuff if you have the freedom, tools and realistic expectations in place that allow you to do it. Rest and relaxation is a big part of that.

Are you trying to convince someone to give you a day off?

These may help:

Wikipedia page on burnout. (lots of references to academic studies.

Guardian article on the myth of indispensability.

In praise of idleness.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 07:17:10 -0800

backseatpilot, that Crunch Mode essay is superb, lots of resources linked in it. Thanks!

By: drinkcoffee

drinkcoffee — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:31:48 -0800

To me the best evidence has always been -- why is the work week 5 days long? Surely there must be a reason? I think I remember reading Peter Drucker or somebody that mentioned that back in the day, factory and business owners figured out rather quickly the "sweet spot" for worker productivity, which was 40 hours of work per week. Any more than that and productivity started going down.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:57:00 -0800

Yep, here it is.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:14:22 -0800

And here's Henry Ford's seminal essay on why he cut the working week at his factories to five days, but kept pay the same as when it was six - short answer, people are actually better workers if they work a 40 hour work week, and with more leisure time, will go out and spend more, which drives the economy.

Here's a rather elegant essay from Boris Johnson on the value of having the:

"time and freedom to bunk off, read a book, play with the children, do a picture (no matter how useless), write a poem (no matter how bad), draw up plans for your expedition to the Mato Grosso or just sit and get sozzled in the sun."

By: limeonaire

limeonaire — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:30:21 -0800

How weird! I just Googled "who actually works 40 hours a week?" yesterday and found the crunch time article, completely independently of your query. This is the time of year for it, eh?

By: epersonae

epersonae — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:10:30 -0800

"factory and business owners"? Um, wasn't the 8-hour day and the 5-day week also a regular request of turn-of-the-century labor unions? With the (honestly, a little weird) exception of Ford, most large factory, mine, sweatshop, etc owners were quite willing to work their employees about to death. After all, there were always more immigrants, people running away from the farm, etc., etc.

I recently finished reading a book about 1919, and the coal miners and steelworkers both went on strike that year, both demanding, among other things a shorter work week. (Miners: 5 days, steelworkers, 6 days. Coal miners regularly worked 69-hour weeks, sometimes on 24-hour shifts.)

In both cases, management refused to negotiate at all, the strikers were painted as Bolshevists in the media, and in the end, they were unsuccessful. IIRC, later strikes were significantly more successful. I used to work with a woman who had the bumper sticker: "Unions, the people who brought you the weekend" or something like that.

And to answer the question, yes, of course a day of rest is good for productivity. :)

By: JaySunSee

JaySunSee — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:17:47 -0800

Great answers everybody. Thank you.

By: drinkcoffee

drinkcoffee — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:51:54 -0800

I'm gonna go get sozzled right now!