According to data compiled by Slack, employees who condense their work into prescribed working hours and log off at the end of the work day are 20% more productive than those who feel they have to keep working past 5pm.

The study of 10,000 desk-based workers also found that more than half (54%) of those who log on after hours only do so because they feel pressured to. This cohort also reports twice as much work-related stress, burnout, and 1.7 times lower career satisfaction.

Quality versus quantity

Working for a company with an “always on” mentality means presenteeism will most likely be at play among colleagues.

However, Slack’s study found that for most workers, only 70% of their workday is productive with productivity plummeting between the hours of 3pm and 6pm.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Christina Janzer, VP of research and analytics and head of the Workforce Lab at Slack explains: “Productivity happens in bursts, on and off throughout a day, not necessarily in prescribed windows of time, and definitely not for eight consecutive hours.

“The ‘afternoon slump’ shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing; for many workers this could be an ideal time to take that break that will boost their overall productivity for the day.”

So how can we move away from a linear approach to productivity and adapt our work days so breaks get taken, we work to our best ability––and ultimately the work gets done?

Working your way

The short answer: boundaries. But that’s not likely to wash with a manager that doesn’t respect or understand the concept of work-life balance.

Instead, communicate that you are going to arrange your work into blocks of time whereby you plan your deep focus work for your most productive times of the day and schedule meetings around these blocks so that your focus work isn’t interrupted.

Reducing the amount of actual meetings you participate in every day is also key. While video calls are an effective tool when working remotely, not every exchange of information needs to be a video call meeting and an email might be a better use of everyone’s time instead.

Examining how you can implement AI tools such as Otter or ClickUp into your work day, particularly with regards to meetings, is also a great way to highlight that a more bespoke approach to productivity trumps clocking up hours spent sitting in front of your computer.

That said, if your employer is forcing the issue and isn’t facilitating any kind of flexibility, it could be time to look for a new opportunity in a company that gives its staff the agency to meet KPIs and get the job done in a less prescriptive manner.

If that is the case, the Maddyness Job Board is the perfect place to focus your search. It features thousands of tech jobs, including the three below.

Senior Java Developer, CGI, United Kingdom

CGI has been recognised as a great place to work by Forbes magazine and the Sunday Times thanks to its collaborative approach whereby employees are referred to as “members” and its employee shareholder equity scheme. As a Senior Java Developer you will be given the opportunity to work on key projects within the business unit and work closely with a wide range of clients on exciting projects with real-world critical purpose and positive impact on UK Citizens' lives. Interested? Find out more here.

Machine Learning Technical Lead, LNER, London

As the Machine Learning Technical Lead at LNER you will be working with a whole host of business areas to build machine learning models to meet their needs, alleviate pain points and generate revenue. As such, you will be responsible for leading, supporting and mentoring a team of scientists and engineers to re-engineer data to be machine learning ready and then develop statistical algorithms to implement solutions to key business challenges. If this sounds like the next step in your career, apply here.

Senior JavaScript Developer, SMG, London

SMG’s benefits package includes a £1,200 yearly wellbeing fund (on top of your salary) towards your personal wellbeing and passions as well as four additional wellbeing days, one to be taken each quarter to help you focus on your wellbeing. It is seeking a Senior JavaScript Developer to join its London office in a hybrid capacity. In this role, you will be responsible for the architecture of new features and for maintaining the technical quality standards within the developer team. You will also be a point of contact and learning for the rest of the team, coaching and guiding them within their roles and development. See the full job description here.

Find your next job in tech today via the Maddyness Job Board