Why We Lose With Daylight 'Saving'
Anyone else needing that Daylight Saving size Starbucks this morning like the one in the picture below? As you no doubt know, over the weekend we had to ‘spring’ forward an hour for Daylight Saving. Daylight Saving Time (DST) has a long history and though often associated with farming, the actual reason for implementation in the US was increased worker productivity to support World War I. Just because we’ve done something for a long time and assume it is delivering what we expect it is best to check the data.
Sure Daylight Saving is a pain, we have to change our clocks, we lose an hour of sleep and it disrupts our lives for a few days but it must be worth it, right?
It is fair to ask, does DST really lead to greater productivity? If you are like most people your initial answer might be, of course it does or we wouldn’t do it. Or, it makes sense that shifting time to get more hours of light during the workday will be a benefit.
While those seem like reasonable answers they are in fact wrong. I grew up in Indiana and for many years the Hoosier state didn’t adjust their clocks for DST. That changed in 2006, providing a living laboratory to see if in fact there was a productivity increase resulting from springing forward and falling back. A number of studies were conducted in Indiana and what they found was actually a significant decrease in worker productivity and a slight increase in energy usage. According to Business Insider it costs nearly half a billion dollars in lost productivity in the U.S. alone as a result of DST.
On top of a measured productivity drop there has always been a statistically significant increase in traffic accidents and heart attacks across the country the Monday following a time change. None of the assumed benefits are real while many negatives occur as a result of DST.
We have many processes and methods we use at work as well as in our personal lives that we assume are the best-known way or are providing a specific benefit. To continuously improve we have to test those beliefs and methods. Each week in my role as the leader of a Lean Practice I challenge Improvement teams to question the way they’ve always done something. There is a good chance there is now a better way or what they thought was good was never effective to begin with. It seems every week the teams I work with discover a new or improved way to do what we’ve always done. That is the power of Continuous Improvement and why we are seeing tremendous change and improvement on a regular basis.
Do I think DST will go away anytime soon? Let’s just say since not everyone is committed to a continuous improvement mindset, I expect to be drinking extra-large Starbucks every Spring for some time to come.
(This article is updated from one originally written in 2016, the practice of DST continues.)
Director at PHILIPSMAN- Director- Adoor-Kerala - India
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Unique Solutions: Generational Planning and Smart Money, Low Risk Solutions Protect Savings & investments with voluntary plans. Also Workforce Time software
7 年It does make me wonder how valuable a change this is. I was surprised that it occurred around WW-I. I thought this took place in the mid '60's and when I looked into it, I was correct; 1966. Looking at the history of this practice, I am inclined to believe you are correct Mr Marlow; there is no fiscal benefit. However, as one of the commenters points out, people do like the extra hour after the work day; which some industries get anyway by starting their workdays at 7AM. I've often thought that traffic congestion could be lessened for the AM/PM commutes if businesses staggered their work times within a community (more than they are now.) Any thoughts on the value of this? It seems less traffic over a longer period would be an efficient improvement to commute time, etc.
Talent Management Professional | Data Literate Leader | Senior Program Manager
7 年I've been thinking about this one for the last day or two. There are many different perspectives on the desired outcomes of DST. Interestingly, the one I hear people talk about the most is that it stays lighter later in the day so they can spend more time outside with their families, friends, pets. This is qualitative data that often gets overlooked. What we don't know, though, is what the value of the qualitative benefits. But what I suspect is that these qualitiative benefits are what prevents us from getting rid of DST for good. The heart usually wins out over the head in debates like this.
Sales Executive at ePlatinumHealth
7 年Well-written and a good challenge!