50% of employees say the biannual clock switch impacts their productivity at work
Over 10% of women still feel the effects more than two weeks after the switch
We are all too familiar with the feeling of fatigue, lethargy and tiredness on the Monday morning after the clocks go back, heralding the arrival of winter. But the effects of Daylight Saving Time (DST) on our internal body clock have far deeper implications than just feeling drowsy, according to new research conducted by Built Environment Specialists, Extentia Group.
In their recent survey* of over 1000 adults in the UK, “Overcoming the UK’s Productivity Challenge”, workers were asked about DST to understand how the seasonal clock change affects people at work and found that more than half of those surveyed said it affected their performance in the workplace.
Since 1916, the clocks have changed twice a year, going forward by an hour in the spring and backward by an hour in the autumn – a model that has also been adopted by many countries across the world. These changes, which were first campaigned by builder William Willett in the early 1900s, allow for an extra hour of sunlight in the summer months. (William Willet was the great-great grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who paid homage to his ancestor with the hit “Clocks” in 2002, Daylight Saving Time’s Coldplay connection).
Almost half of all respondents believed that DST affected how productively they worked, with 40% admitting it particularly affected performance in the mornings. But this effect was not limited to the Monday morning following the clocks going back, with respondents still feeling the negative consequences four days later. More worryingly, over 10% of women still felt affected for more than two weeks after the switch, with results suggesting this is down to having to adjust their entire routine.
These results are echoed in a recent survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics, which found that the UK’s productivity levels lagged behind those of our European neighbours, warning that it had taken a decade to deliver as much productivity growth as was previously achievable in a single year prior to the financial crisis. Were EU member states to maintain their current biannual clock switch, with the UK moving towards a unilateral once yearly change, this divergence could leave British workers lagging even further behind their European counterparts in terms of productivity.
Extentia Group strives to shed light on how personal employee habits and routines impact productivity in the workplace. The current research provides insight on how different demographics react to changes in their environment, supporting Extentia’s specialist work in providing a tailored, personalised approach to designing office spaces, avoiding the typical ‘one size fits all’ solution.
Nigel Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Extentia Group said: “In theory, an extra hour of sleep this weekend should mean you feel more awake on Monday morning. But instead, our inner body clock is thrown out of sync, so our body must play catch up, which puts enormous strain on our physical and cognitive resources. This has a massive detriment on productivity in the workplace and, at Extentia, we are determined to overcome this challenge”.
“We work with our clients to understand their workplace culture and what employees want from their workplace. This survey provides new insight into staff productivity and how fixed cultural traditions, such as DST, can impact employees’ work. At Extentia, we understand the deep impact that our external environment has on our wellbeing and productivity. We take a fresh, innovative approach, not just considering the design of an office, but understanding employees’ complex working habits, before coordinating and delivering an end-to-end, full suite of built environment services to enhance the working lives of Britain’s employees”.