More hours at the office doesn’t necessarily mean higher productivity: an example from the Nordics

One of the greatest fears people face when deciding to start up is the fear of losing their personal freedom. Having a startup could mean working all your waking hours. It’s normal, there will be a million things and details to take care of and at first there will be few of you in the office. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that you have to live there. We tell you why.

Plan your schedule well

There’s tons of evidence pointing out that spending more time working doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you, or your startup for that matter. Think of it as training for a marathon: you won’t be a better athlete just because you run more hours every day. Instead of killing yourself trying to do it all at once, plan your schedule well and set aside some time to enjoy things that have nothing to do with work. In Nordic countries they’ve been implementing this type of timetable for some time and it’s going better than expected. But, how do we know that working less garners better results?

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has been recording data about productivity in developed nations for some years, and Europe is among the regions studied. And this historical series shows that the more numbers clocked per week per inhabitant correlates to a lower rate of productivity. Thus it lends to the paradox that in countries in southern Europe, with Spain and Italy in the lead, the number of hours worked surpasses those in northern countries, yet their productivity is much lower. More specific information can be found on the OECD website and they show quite revealing data… so what can we do about it?

A 6 hour utopia?

In countries such as Sweden they’ve begun experimenting with a six-hour workday. Yes, you read that right- just six hours! For you, someone who spends double digit hours working on your startup, this must sound like fantasy, but there is official interest in finding out whether this schedule can be implemented on a larger scale. This is what the Swedish city of Gothenburg is trying to discover, whose City Council has commissioned the consultant Bengt Lorensson who is leading the analysis to see to what extent it is feasible to work such short hours.

According to the BBC, since this past December a couple Swedish hospitals are conducting a controlled study in which some of the workers have six-hour days and others the usual eight-hour day. Thus, although it is still early to draw large findings, the researchers are recognizing that those who work fewer hours feel less stressed and take few sick days.

Whether or not it’s a good idea to reduce the number of hours worked to 6, scientists have been indicating for some time that it’s unlikely that a person can maintain their concentration for 8 hours straight. Does this mean that you can’t work more than 8 hours a day? Of course not, but each additional hour you add to your day will be less productive.

The logical conclusion indicates that, although there will be days when you have to spend more time on your startup, you should ideal plan to exploit the maximum number of ‘normal’ working hours and dedicate the rest of your day to other activities. You’ll be more productive, and what’s more important still, happier.