DAYLIGHT SAVING

We know all the positives it brings

BUT ….…what cost to productivity?

Daylight Saving has been in operation in New Zealand since the formal introduction of the Time Act in 1974. After a trial over the summer of 1974/75, it was agreed to formally introduce it with permanent effect from the summer of 1975/76. As a result of further feedback via public surveys, The New Zealand Daylight Time Order of 1990 ordered that the period be extended to commence at 2.00 am on the first Sunday in October each year and cease at 2.00 am New Zealand time on the third Sunday of March in the following year, effectively adding a further five weeks of daylight saving. The Daylight Time Order 1990 is still in effect however in 2007 the Government extended the Daylight Savings period from 24 to 27 weeks. From September 2007 Daylight Savings is now observed from the last Sunday in September until the first Sunday in April.

• Firstly, let me say I have no difficulty with the concept of Daylight Saving, I must say however that I did question the need for it to be extended. Subsequent to that extension, I have made the following observations:
  
• New Zealand Daylight Savings times are not in any way synchronised with those of our major trading partner Australia. We commence four weeks earlier (Tasmania excepted) and finish two weeks earlier than the States of Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and The Australian Capital Territory.
  
• Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not observe daylight saving therefore there are actually five different time zones observed in Australia during daylight saving as opposed to the usual three (possibly six for a short time if Tasmania’s four week earlier start is taken into account).
  
• When the Zealand “Daylight Time” is added to the mix it means there are 6 (or seven) time zones in operation throughout Australasia during the summer months resulting in some confusion due to the staggered start/finish times in each country. As a result, the above scenario requires careful planning and co-ordination for the many New Zealand businesses which trade across the Tasman, frequently with some added resourcing cost.
  
• On another front there appears to be an ever increasing trend and a significant emphasis on “stretching” the available daylight time, frequently at the expense of career/work purposes and productivity with many longer events now being scheduled in the evening to maximise the effect of daylight saving i.e. more events starting at 4.00 pm or 4.30 pm. I have observed in my own household and those of my colleagues and friends, that everybody is actually awake for at least one and a half to two hours longer on average each day. This would not necessarily be the case without daylight saving.
  
• Those with young families find great difficulty in ensuring children achieve the required period of sleep over the summer months of daylight saving. Everyone is very tired by the time daylight saving ends due to its cumulative effect – particularly younger children. Summer daylight hours in the South Island are in fact extensive anyway and the further South one goes, the lighter it is. For example, you can still play tennis in Invercargill at 10.30 pm mid summer.

Certainly the North Island benefits more from daylight saving that the South because of its naturally shorter daylight hours in the evenings.

Although I have no hard evidence to prove it, I believe that the emphasis on maximising daylight saving for out-of-work interests, sports, hobbies or activities, must have an effect on productivity in the workplace. One thing I do know for a fact, is that productivity within the organisations I have led, managed and/or owned over the years certainly appears to be more sustained and consistent for the period mid-March to the end of September than it is through the daylight savings period. (In saying this I do acknowledge that Xmas/New Year holidays and other anniversary days which tend to fall in greater numbers over the summer months do have a greater disruptive effect on business productivity.)

From a purely selfish perspective it annoys me to think that because daylight saving has been moved further into April, that it is dark at 6.00 am in the morning when I arise during late February, March and early April. This irks me because I know full well that for the next six or seven months at least I will be getting up in the dark, travelling to work in the dark and travelling home in the dark. Many people have told me that they would like to delay the getting up on dark mornings for as long as possible.

Finally there is what I call the build up of “Residual Tiredness” which is mostly overlooked, by way of example here is how it occurs: 27 weeks of Daylight Saving x 7 days PW = 189 days x say an average of an additional 1.5 hours per day time awake = 283.5 hours which in turn divided by 24 equates to 11.81 additional days of time awake over that 27 week period.

It's no wonder then that many people are showing significant and consistent signs of fatigue and grumpy behaviour by the time daylight savings ends.

One final general observation, I have found that the more time people have, the more time they tend to waste by doing absolutely nothing useful with it. (I guess at least they have the choice).

As I stated at the commencement of this article, I have absolutely no difficulty with daylight saving as a concept, and fully supported its introduction. What I did question at the time (and still do) was the need to continually extend it.

I also believe there is a cost to productivity, for some of the reasons outlined above.

Barry T Knight