Productive Hours

1. The hours of work activity which can be directly related to the making of a product. Indirect activities, such as general meetings, rest breaks, general thinking time, etc. would not be classed as productive time, and is often referred to as non-productive time, although it might be better to call this ‘supporting time’ as otherwise this is often perceived as a negative period in which time-wasting is rife, although it is essential for the effective functioning of a works system. This definition is commonly used by managers to help to better understand workplace efficiency.

2. The entirety of hours that an employee is in a workplace, available to undertake any work which they are employed to do. Some of this time will be spend on productive work which results in a tangible outcome, whilst the remaining time is typically classed as non-productive, indirect or supporting time.

Productivity may be a lot less than perceived within a workplace. For example, one US study showed that in an 8-hour day productivity within an office environment was found to be just under 3-hours. Having reduced working hours has been shown to increase actual productivity and improve worker motivation, so there is clearly a balance to be made by employees to ensure employees are productive, but in as efficient a way as possible. ( Nezich, H. 2019, ‘Is an 8-hour work day productive?’, )

The skills and labour shortages within the grounds care industry might be reduced if some employers became more enlightened regards the relationship between staff welfare and productivity. Recruitment and retention might just be improved, if a better work-life balance is being offered.