Why Friday is the laziest day of the work week and Tuesday is the most productive

Flow.com examined the usage information of more than 37,000 Flow users to understand employee productivity. Flow is a productivity measure that shows how much work gets done. The magnitude of the Friday fall in productivity was astounding.

They analyzed the daily averages of all the important activities that people performed, such as creating tasks, delegating, completing tasks, and engaging in discussions. Surprisingly, their findings revealed that Friday consistently showcased the lowest level of productivity.

While the Monday Mania generates a burst of productivity, the Friday Slump causes the opposite effect. On Fridays, less work is completed than on Mondays, by 35%. There is a notable decrease in tasks by 35%, a 25% decrease in comments being posted, a 28% decrease in assignments being passed between team members, and a significant 45% decrease in jobs being completed

The data also showed that less work is scheduled, redistributed, and finished on Fridays. But at the end of the week, are we mentally checking out of work and just going through the motions?

Plus, many of us arrive at work on Fridays thinking, “Since it’s Friday, I don’t have to work as hard.”

According to the data, it seems that a large majority of us are experiencing one of the following feelings: fatigue from the almost complete work week, excitement and expectancy for the upcoming weekend, or a sense of impassivity and stress due to the never-ending work routine.

Tuesday, on the other hand, was shown to be the most productive day of the week because more meetings were scheduled for Tuesdays. There is also the fact that many people are getting over the Monday blues and are ready for work.

According to a survey by AL.com that was based on more than 300 interviews with American human resources managers who work for organizations with 20 or more workers, Tuesday is considered to be the most productive day of the week by 39% of managers.

With a 24 percent productivity rate, Monday was the second-most productive day of the week, following only Wednesday and no particular day (both at 17 percent). This is because many employees spend Monday catching up from last week and planning the one ahead.

It’s no surprise that many countries are endorsing and implementing a four-day workweek, considering that research has consistently demonstrated enhanced productivity when people work for four days instead of five.