Is there an optimal amount of hours a field sales rep should work per week? Does it depend on the industry they serve? Here’s the amount of hours we found field sales reps work per industry.
What is the optimal number of working hours to put in during a week? Companies in some parts of the world and in some industries are increasingly testing the effect of shorter work weeks on employees’ productivity and their overall sense of well-being.
While a great emphasis will always be placed on work ethic, the real trick is figuring out how to work smart.
One study by time management expert Laura Vanderkam concluded that people who work less hours (7.6 hours on average) tend to experience their day as having ‘more time’ to get things done. These people tend to plan their day better, completing their more difficult tasks when they’re most productive and so freeing up more time in their day. Those who worked only one hour more on average (8.6 hours) experienced their day as a lot more time-pressured.
Other reasons employers look to cut down working hours are because of various health dangers and the potential negative impact on their employees’ career longevity. Unnecessary long hours coupled with bad workplace habits more typically leads to physical and mental health issues, while overtime and work intensity predicts less positive career outcomes.
Not every industry operates in the same way and some tasks require certain commitments at different stages of completion, so not everyone can hit the ‘sweet spot’ for optimum productivity of 40 hours (some say 38!) a week.
What every employer can do is ask, ‘What can I do to make sure my employees function optimally over the long term?’
Below is an infographic showing the amount of hours field sales professionals in different industries work on average per week. How does your sales team compare? Further below you can read feedback from Skynamo users about how the field sales app helped their teams to reduce working hours while increasing productivity.
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Better route planning means less time on the road
‘Skynamo’s GPS features help our reps with route planning by giving them a mapped view of their customers’ geographical locations. Those reps who embraced the Skynamo app now swear by it as it makes them more efficient and effective in their planning and their calls rather than taking a shotgun approach.’ – Mike Giltrow, CEO at BED Holdings
Higher productivity at a sustainable rate
‘Skynamo enabled us to maintain higher levels of productivity but also to do so in a relaxed manner. In fact, the sales team started managing themselves a whole lot better because we gave them the right tools to work with.’ – Steve, Sales Manager at Atlas Oil
Empowering reps to manage their own schedules
‘Reps were given the means to play a more active role in structuring and managing their own schedules and routines. Skynamo has reduced admin for the reps to a large degree and consolidated all our manual paperwork and checks into one system without overcomplicating things.’ – Adele Norman, Retail General Manager at SafeTop
