Short context about working hours
In many of our IT consulting and process optimization projects we deliver at Gregic Advisory, a recurring strategic question surfaces: “What is the optimal working time model for today’s workforce?” And it is a hard question, because management often gravitates toward traditional structures like 40‑hour weeks and fixed office hours (08:00am to 04:00 pm or 09:00am – 05:00pm) whereas employees always demand flexibility and autonomy. The tension between these perspectives remains unresolved, there is no one‑size‑fits‑all answer and to be clear – I do not have the answer. But let’s take a deep dive into this working hours issue.
Why all this matters?
Modern workplace dynamics call into question the effectiveness of the rigid 9 to 5, five day week and some scientific and industry studies show that a flexible work schedule can yield better outcomes for organizations and individuals. Some examples are:
- Landmark UK pilot involving some 60 companies and around 3000 employees found that moving to a four day week preserved or improved productivity while significantly boosting well being (Source: www.theguardian.com)
- One research by Henley Business School shows that up to 78% of employees say they feel happier and less stressed working a four day week (Source: www.4dayweek.io/blog/statistics )
- Also some studies confirm that productivity actually declines after working beyond ~50 hours per week, with sharp drop‑offs past 55 hours to even negligible gains (Source: www.atlassian.com)
- Meta – analyses and economic studies suggest there’s an inverted U‑shaped relationship between hours worked and output, that means that excessive hours reduces performance (Source: https://cs.stanford.edu/ )
Results and outcomes
- In Iceland, trials reducing work to ~35 hours per week showed maintained or improved productivity across most organizations, with employees reporting reduced stress and better work – life balance (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org )
- The Perpetual Guardian trial in New Zealand demonstrated some 20% increase in productivity, reduced stress, higher job satisfaction, and stable revenue after one company moved to a four‑day structure (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/ )
- A global pilot across six countries (2025) echoed previous findings: full time pay, 80% time leads to 100% productivity, much less burnout and better mental health outcomes for people (Source: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/)
- Also, in the UK pilot, 89% of participants continued the four day schedule beyond the trial; 82% reported better wellbeing, 50% reduced turnover, and nearly half saw improved productivity in their work (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/money)
Our recommended approach based on insights: flexible, focused and co-designed
Based on these insights and and consistent with our consulting style, we often propose the following framework when applicable:
- KPI – Define desired outcomes, not just fixed hours – count results over presence, organizations and AI systems should measure quality and goals achieved, not just desk time
- Explore compressed or flexible schedules with your employees when that is possible – consider options like four day weeks, shorter daily hours, or chronoworking models aligned with employee peak performance periods. Some people also prefer to work in shifts, because that way they have time and space to handle their own personal obligations like doctors and other appointments which they can’t if they only work fixed 09:00am – 05:00pm (often in Croatia)
- Cut low value work and measure KPI – redesign processes, like reducing unnecessary meetings or email chains, to reclaim time for meaningful work. But at the same time keep an eye on the KPIs
- Support well being: of your employees – it’s time to recognize that reduced hours enhance mental health, reduce burnout, and decrease absenteeism, which supports long‑term performance of your people. And your company depends on your people, their health and stress levels
We still don’t have a universal answer to this question and that’s intentional. The right approach to working hours depends heavily on the nature of your industry, the complexity of tasks, and the outcomes you’re optimizing, so it is often dependent on individual business and employees needs.
How rethinking working hours works in practice?
We often build hybrid models that combine structured core hours or shifts (when most team members align) with flexible blocks that respect chronotypes (so called “chronoworking“). Employees choose when they are most cognitively aligned and productive, while maintaining predictable output windows and we introduce KPIs for every role and every employee (software for tracking all that can be custom made micro SMART web app. The focus isn’t on drastic changes but on creating a system to track working hours, performance, and KPIs, thanit needs to be tested on real data analyzed and after all that you can plan the next steps.
There’s no universal formula for optimal working hours, but the data consistently supports one direction: shorter, more focused, and flexibility driven models tend to deliver better results. At Gregic Advisory, we’re often asked: “What’s the ideal schedule for our team?” And our most honest answer here is: it depends, on the nature of your business, your operational tempo, and most importantly – your people and their needs.
However, what is clear is this:
- Productivity doesn’t scale linearly with time, it plateaus, and eventually declines, when working hours are too long
- Thoughtfully reduced hours can boost performance, engagement, and mental health across the organisation
- The best outcomes come from co-creating solutions with employees, not just imposing top-down models disconnected from reality
Keep this in mind:
Every organization is unique and it should act like it: copy-pasting policies from elsewhere, without understanding your people and your workflows, leads to shallow reform and missed opportunities.
More importantly: if you don’t define clear KPIs for each role and employee, you’ll have no reliable way to measure the impact of any schedule change. Without metrics, you’re getting nowhere, so better don’t even start.
After all, this isn’t just about flexibility for flexibility’s sake. It’s about building a mutual exchange: designing work in a way that lets employees give their best to your company, while at the same time you enable your company to support a healthier, more livable rhythm for them. Most people don’t resist fixed schedules out of rebellion, they often resist them because rigid hours, misaligned with real life, quietly erode their own well being and long term performance and even their own life goals.
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Kako mikro SMART aplikacija može transformirati radno vrijeme, performanse i produktivnost tima?
