The negative impact of busy season Saturdays

Despite clear evidence that mandatory overtime hurts productivity, the practice persists. According to a recent survey by Accounting Today, two-thirds of accounting firms will require staff to work at least some busy season Saturdays. And 34% will require staff to work all Saturdays this busy season!

However, a recent study reveals that compelling employees to work extra hours, such as mandating time in the office on Saturdays during tax season, backfires by reducing productivity during the week.

The costs go even further. Enforced overtime leads to worse work-life balance for staff, higher turnover rates, and otherwise avoidable productivity declines. Excessive overtime also normalizes a "productivity theater" over actual work.

More time, less productive?

According to a global survey by Slack involving over 10,000 desk workers, 54% of employees feel obligated to work after hours. But as anyone who has done it knows, working overtime has an impact the next day. These same employees report 20% lower productivity during the day.

Let's apply this to public accounting. Making Saturday a workday boosts weekly working hours by 20%. But the net productivity gain is zero if staff are 20% less productive the rest of the time.

But the cost is not zero. The survey by Slack shows that mandatory overtime lowers job satisfaction, increases work-related stress, and leads to two times more burnout.

The survey also found that when staff choose to work additional hours, there's no negative impact. In contrast to mandatory overtime, giving workers authority over their schedules enhances wellness and productivity.

It also reduces the need for "productivity theater," where employees pretend to look busy to please managers and partners or pad hours on timesheets. And there's a big benefit to eliminating the need to look busy. According to the survey, workers who regularly take breaks have 13% higher productivity, 62% better work-life balance, and 43% more overall job satisfaction.

Why mandatory busy season hours backfire

It's simple. Parkinson's Law states that work will expand to fill the time available for completion.

When staff are required to be in the office whether or not they've finished their assignments, they have little motivation to work faster. So, work they could have completed during the week gets done on Saturday instead.

This is particularly frustrating for high performers who know they don't need to be in the office. And do you really want to burn out your best and brightest?

How to eliminate mandatory busy season Saturdays

Mandatory Saturdays have a negative impact. Yet there are plenty of arguments in favor of them. Let's address each of the supposed benefits and discuss how to get those benefits without working on the weekend.

• Mandatory Saturdays ensure that all client work is completed accurately and on time. The busy season is a season of deadlines. With so much work to do in a short amount of time, how else can firms get it done? The answer is to spread out the work. For example, put more tax returns on extension. Many firms are now putting 100% of clients on extension every year. Proper workflow software also ensures that deadlines aren't missed and reduces the need for fire drills. But most of all, plan for the busy season. A general absence of long-term planning leaves many firms reactive. Per Accounting Today's survey, 39% of organizations operate without an overarching strategic plan. So they fall back on tradition.
• Mandatory Saturdays enhance team cohesion. Another argument is that the busy season is an "all hands on deck" situation where the whole team needs to be in the office to support each other. Alternatively, consider incentivizing the team to help each other during the week to hit productivity targets so they don't have to work on Saturday. And when you set productivity targets, use outputs, not inputs. Hours are inputs. Completed tax returns are outputs.
• Mandatory Saturdays ensure that work is distributed evenly. If you have situations where some employees are overloaded while some have spare capacity, you don't need to be in an office to figure that out anymore. Implement workflow software to see how much work is assigned to each staff member and where that work stands.
• Mandatory Saturdays ensure the firm hits its revenue targets. Many firms still bill by the hour. For these firms, having all hands on deck, including on Saturdays, maximizes their ability to bill hours and, therefore, revenue. The fix is to stop billing for time and start billing for deliverables (such as a tax return). You'll find that the same number of returns can be done in five days instead of six. You'll make more money, and your team will work fewer hours.

Stop the madness. Stop working weekends

During the busy season, it's common for firm leaders to push their employees to work overtime. It's time to question the effectiveness of this practice. Is it helping us meet our goals or simply leading to burnout and decreased productivity?

By embracing a new approach, companies can reap the rewards of higher job satisfaction, better recruitment, and increased productivity — benefits that last throughout the year. It's time for the profession to take a promising first step toward reform by abandoning the assumption that mandatory weekend shifts are necessary. It's good not only for your employees but also for your business.