The Case for Designing Work Around Circadian Rhythms
4/7/202626 min
Are you a morning type, a night owl, or somewhere in between? And what about the people on your team? When do they feel most energized and productive? Stefan Volk, professor of management at the University of Sydney Business School, says that leaders need to pay more attention to their own and employees’ circadian rhythms because they have a big impact on performance. While forcing everyone into the same schedule can lead to conflict, mistakes, and burnout, carefully planning tasks around individual energy peaks enhances collaboration not only during overlaps but also when people are apart. He offers practical advice on how to get all chronotypes working well together. Volk is author of the HBR article "Tapping into Your Team's Circadian Rhythms."
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First 90 secondsAdi Ignatius· Host0:00
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Alison Beard· Host0:19
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Adi Ignatius· Host1:00
And I'm Adi Ignatius, and this is the HBR Idea Cast.
Alison Beard· Host1:03
[on-hold music] Adi, when do you do your best work?
Adi Ignatius· Host1:12
You know, I generally have a lot of projects moving forward at once. I'm tending to fires all day. It's often at night after hours when I carve out time and do what's probably my best focused work. I don't recommend this 'cause it eats into my so-called real life, but I do find it necessary.