National Leave The Office Early Day
Get permission to leave work when your tasks are done for the day, and see how productive that shorter day can be. Or, let your employees out early. Please.
Who doesn’t dream of leaving the office earlier, in time to enjoy the afternoon? Who gets frustrated, especially during the winter months, by the fact that it’s still dark when they go to work, and already dark when they leave? These are just the people that National Leave The Office Early Day was created for!
History of Leave the Office Earlier Day
This day was the invention of Laura Stack, a specialist in employee productivity, amongst other things. Stack noted that Americans work about 49 hours a week and a grand total of about 350 more hours a year than most Europeans. This can prove detrimental for many reasons.
First off, the quicker things get done, at optimal levels, the more productive (and profitable) business will be.
Secondly, the truth is that the nature of work is that for the most part, employees would rather be somewhere else, doing something else, which can lead to distractions which result in lower productivity.
Thirdly, interminable working days can prove disheartening, acting as a demotivational factor, causing employees to work at a sluggish pace and get much less done than they would if they were feeling better about themselves.
This, in turn, is connected to the fact that inflexible working hours and excessive overtime can turn any hare into a tortoise. Although the latter won the proverbial race, the former would have achieved the same in less time had it only applied itself to the task.
Leave the Office Earlier Day is an incentive for employees to complete tasks before schedule, making a conscious effort to increase their efficiency and productivity so they can go home sooner.
Basically, the perspective of leaving the workplace earlier acts like a carrot for the hare inside all of us, compelling employees to perform his or her tasks to his or her maximum potential, reducing levels of idleness amongst workers.
This managerial strategy—that is, allowing people to go home as soon as they have properly completed their tasks—has been shown to be beneficial to both employees and employers, a real win-win situation for both parties.
Over and over again, it proves true the theory that happy workers are more efficient and productive, and that people, in general, respond better to positive rather than negative reinforcement. More work done in less time is beneficial to the business seeking to increase its profits as well as society or humanity at large, and National Leave The Office Early Day is another chapter in the quest for maximum productivity that is as old as the human industry itself.
Another positive side effect of this managerial strategy is the creation of a sense of empathy between co-workers, as well as between workers and their bosses, which leads to much better co-operation. And this, in turn, leads to increased productivity. Yes, this truly seems to be a win-win situation for all involved.
How to celebrate Leave the Office Earlier Day
If you are an employee, get your boss’ permission to leave as soon as you’ve finished all of your tasks for the day. You’ll likely be surprised at how motivated you feel to get things done expeditiously!
If you own a business, on the other hand, you could let your employees know they are free to go as soon as they finish their tasks for the day. You’ll likely be surprised at how much less time it can take to get the job done!
