The American Workhorse Hourly Productivity Short Workweeks Across the World The lines have blurred between work hours and personal time. Work emails, schedules, and documents are accessible (even editable) on mobile devices—bringing the workplace to anywhere with an Internet connection. But does working more hours mean more productivity? According to data by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and The Economist, it actually means the exact opposite. In the United States, the 40-hour workweek is often overlooked and disregarded. Employers might view employees who put in 40 hours a week as lazy or unmotivated. Here’s a look at hours worked on an annual basis. To better understand the relationship between these two metrics, let’s examine various countries’ relationships between annual hours worked and productivity. For those of us still on the 40-hour workweek schedule, here are some helpful tips to make sure your productivity levels stay ahead of the curve. Work Hours, by Country Work Hours/Productivity Correlation Which Countries are Most Productive? Sources: INC.com | Fast Company | Business Insider | The Economist Washington Post | NY Times | CNN Money 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000 2,200 2,400 2,600 2,800 GDP Per Hour Worked (USS, 2005 PPP) Hours Worked Per Person Engaged Be Ruthless About Prioritizing Tasks First focus on items and tasks that make or break your business. Not all tasks are created equal. PLAN Don’t Start Anything Without a Plan First The biggest time-waster is redoing a task that wasn’t done right the first time. Creating a strategy at the forefront will make execution more efficient. Be Realistic About How Many Gains You Can Really Make Dream big and have goals, but temper your long-term ambitions with short-term realism. Invest in Help Trying to do everything yourself is another way of ignoring priorities. Get the help you need, and train people to do the job the way it should be done. Carve Out and Protect Time for Yourself Schedule personal time to keep yourself healthy, maintain important relationships outside of work, and follow passions that aren’t related to your job. Typical rationale says longer hours bring more productivity, but new research tells a different story. DENMARK FRANCE GREECE JAPAN KOREA PORTUGAL SPAIN SWEDEN UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES Annual Working Hours Per Person Engaged (2012) 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN Although correlation doesn’t equal causation, the relationship between hours worked and productivity indicates longer hours might not result in more productivity.. Overall, productivity and disposable income seem to increase, as annual hours worked decrease. *Productivity is measured by Annual Hours Worked ÷ Country GDP. 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 Annual Hours Worked MEXICO SOUTH KOREA GREECE RUSSIA UNITED STATES FRANCE GERMANY Productivity $44.00 $14.46 $26.22 $28.47 $15.49 $56.18 $49.13 $49.30 OECD AVG. Working Smarter, Not Longer Productivity aside, employees with shorter work hours are more loyal and suffer less stress and illness. They also tend to be more productive, hour-for-hour. ITALY hours 36 IRELAND hours 34 SWITZERLAND hours 35 SWEDEN hours 36 DENMARK hours 33 BELGIUM hours 35 GERMANY hours 35 NETHERLANDS hours 29 AUSTRALIA hours 36 NORWAY hours 33 Winding Down the Workweek Winding Down the Workweek