Workers are less productive and make more typos in the afternoon—especially on Fridays

If there is one thing that most office workers universally agree on, it is the decrease in productivity during the later part of the day and the end of the work week. Texas A&M University researchers have now discovered objective evidence of this phenomenon.

A recent interdisciplinary study conducted at the Texas A&M School of Public Health utilized a unique method of data collection to demonstrate that employees are indeed less active and more prone to making mistakes during afternoons and Fridays, with Friday afternoons being the peak of reduced worker productivity.

The study, published in a recent issue of PLOS ONE, was authored by Drs. Taehyun Roh and Nishat Tasnim Hasan from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, along with Drs. Chukwuemeka Esomonu, Joseph Hendricks, and Mark Benden from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, and graduate student Anisha Aggarwal from the Department of Health Behavior.

The researchers analyzed computer usage metrics of 789 in-office employees at a large energy company in Texas over a two-year period, from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018.

“Most studies on worker productivity rely on employee self-reports, supervisory evaluations, or wearable technology, but these methods can be subjective and invasive,” said Benden, professor and head of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. “Instead, we utilized computer usage metrics such as typing speed, typing errors, and mouse activity to obtain objective, noninvasive data on computer work patterns.”

The team then compared computer usage patterns across different days of the week and times of the day to identify any patterns that emerged.

“We discovered that computer use increased during the week and significantly decreased on Fridays,” said Roh, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. “People exhibited higher word typing rates and increased mouse movement, clicks, and scrolls on Mondays through Thursdays, and these activities decreased on Fridays.”

Additionally, Roh noted that computer use decreased during every afternoon, especially on Friday afternoons.

“Employees exhibited decreased activity and made more typing errors in the afternoons, particularly on Fridays,” he said. “These findings are consistent with previous research indicating that tasks completed by workers steadily increase from Monday to Wednesday and then decline on Thursday and Friday.”

So, what can employers take away from this? To begin with, offering flexible work arrangements such as hybrid work or a four-day work week may lead to happier and more productive employees.

As of May 2023, approximately 60 percent of full-time paid workers in the United States worked entirely on-site, while the remaining individuals either worked remotely or had a hybrid arrangement combining remote and on-site work. Moreover, many employees have compressed workweeks where they work longer hours over fewer days.

“Other studies have demonstrated that those who work from home or have fewer workdays experience less stress related to commuting, workplace dynamics, and other factors, resulting in higher job satisfaction,” Benden said. “These arrangements also provide workers with more time for their families, reducing work-family conflicts, as well as increased opportunities for exercise and leisure activities, which have been shown to improve both physical and mental health.”

Furthermore, flexible work arrangements can have additional benefits such as reducing electricity usage, carbon footprint, and carbon dioxide emissions.

“The findings from our study can further assist business leaders as they develop strategies to enhance work performance and workplace sustainability,” Benden concluded.

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