Reading Comprehension #3

The Most Productive Day of the Week 

It's possible that while you are at work, you may dream about a month of Sundays, but your boss wishes for a week of Tuesdays. That's because s/he probably knows that productivity is one of the main factors bolstering a company's growth. And a recent poll shows that workers are most productive on Tuesdays! Accountemps, an employment agency, conducted a national survey of office managers, which shows that by the middle of the week, they see a dramatic productivity decrease. While Monday is considered second in "productivity value," only nine percent of office managers think Wednesday is the peak productivity day. Five percent believe it is Thursday. And Friday, well, you can just imagine! However, forty-eight percent of the managers polled said that Tuesday is, by far, the most productive day of the week. 

A close analysis of workweek rhythms would turn up some obvious reasons for those survey results. First of all, Monday is overloaded with meetings, designed to "get things moving," and everybody knows meetings aren't very productive. Wednesday is "hump day" - get over it as painlessly as possible, a worker thinks, and the week is more than halfway over. On Thursday, people are running out of steam; and Friday, everybody's thinking about the weekend. There are reasons why the other days aren't productive, but what makes Tuesday special? Tuesdays, employees hit peak performance because they are very focused on day-to-day activities. Also, it's usually the first day of the week when they're focused on their own task. They're not in meetings that take them away from their primary responsibilities. Actually, Tuesdays can be quite hectic. Workers are arriving at work fairly frantic. And so, in 10 hours, they're doing 20 hours work. That's productive, but it's also tough. 

This does not mean that nothing happens on the last three days of the workweek. Things do not get so lax that people are sitting with their feet on desks, sipping coffee and talking on the phone all day, but there's a definite lack of focus. The pace softens and the rhythm slows down. And this is not healthy: it produces fatigue and lowers productivity. To prevent this midweek slowdown, some management consultants suggest that employers avoid jamming so many meetings into Mondays. Work deadlines can be rescheduled to stretch out the workflow. Variations in productivity are only natural, but both workers and bosses win when the peaks and valleys are less dramatic than they are now. 

Answer the questions below according to the passage above!

1. This reading does not explain:

a. The concern managers have about low productivity on different week-days and how it affects their companies

b. The reasons for differing productivity levels on different week-days.

c. The results of a survey on low productivity.

2. According to this survey which day of the week should be the most productive?

a. Monday

b. Thursday

c. Wednesday

3. According to the survey workers are most stressed on:

a. Monday

b. Tuesday

c. Thursday

4. According to the information from this survey Monday meetings should be:

a. Cancelled

b. Reduced in number

c. Increased in number

5. The writer is suggesting that

a. Workers would be more productive if they worked on other days as they do on Tuesday.

b. Workers would be more productive if they attended fewer meetings.

c. Workers would be more productive if the work deadlines were readjusted.

6. In general this article:

a. Reports the surprising results from a national survey of office managers.

b. Gives the reasons why Tuesday is a particularly productive day in the work week.

c. Reports on the productivity for different work days and makes suggestions for making work week productivity more balanced.