A new study suggests flexible working could potentially boost UK productivity as the traditional nine to five day does not cater for everyone’s needs.

The survey of 1,500 employees conducted by Tic Watches sought to pinpoint the time of day workers typically feel most productive and creative. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, it revealed marked differences in patterns across different age-groups and professions. According to the study, the average UK worker is most productive at 11:54am and reaches their creative peak at 12:42pm. However, a sizeable proportion of younger people said they prefer working either earlier or later in the day – more than one in six millennials felt most productive before 9am, while a similar number said they were most efficient after 5pm.

Notable variations were also evident between professions. Accountants, for example, were found to be most productive at 9:48am, while for admin and office workers it was 11:42am, and 12.54pm for HR and recruitment staff.

New working arrangements in response to the pandemic have inevitably increased flexible working options for a significant proportion of the workforce. And these findings suggest that this could have a positive impact on productivity, particularly across those groups that perform best outside of traditional working hours.