Employers 'should tailor working hours to productivity'

Employers should make use of new findings about worker productivity and tailor working hours accordingly, it has been suggested.

Research undertaken by the Centre for Economic Performance reveals that employees tend to be more productive mid-week, while output tails off in the lead-up to the weekend.

Study authors Alex Bryson and John Forth suggest that companies could use this information to offer more flexibility to their staff regarding working hours.

"There is a need for more and better data on 'day effects'," they write.

"But if productivity does indeed rise and then gradually decline over the working week, employers might reorganise their employees' working time so as to have a greater concentration of hours in the middle of the week."

They also suggest that it may be better to reschedule bank holidays from Mondays to Fridays.

A recent Confederation of British Industry survey found that 46 per cent of UK employers offer staff the option of working from home.