Do you find that you and your team are overwhelmed with digital work that was supposed to make life easier? Commonly, the high-paced environment of an orthodontic office can lead to stress and fatigue. In addition to closures, imposed limitations, and staffing issues, it is no wonder that many feel overwhelmed. A digital practice also has its challenges when doing CAD work, such as ClinChecks and daily clinical work.
Working on productivity techniques to improve digital workflow by optimizing, automating, and delegating appropriately will reap many benefits. A few years ago, we increased our digital work. We noticed how overwhelming it can be once the volume and frequency of digital work increases. However, we found that changing our clinical schedule offered an improved work environment. As a result, it has increased the opportunities for the orthodontist and team to get into a state of flow.
The six-hour clinical day
We started a six-hour clinical day to address the issues of burnout. In exchange, we worked towards improving productivity within the reduced hours. We saw patients from 9 am to noon, then from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm. We have a morning huddle at 8:30, then a long 1.5 hr lunch break with time for focused, digital work. This allows an early end to wrap up final assignments, thus heading home with a clear mind. This schedule also adds time of release, combined with periods of high productivity. Therefore, giving us an opportunity to have a morning meeting, an end-of-day debrief, and time for digital work.
The benefits of a six-hour clinical day are uninterrupted periods of CAD work which avoids ClinCheck homework. In other words, it gives back time within the traditional work hours for work that should remain in the office. This schedule provides the team release to cultivate work relationships and rest mid-day for the very busy afternoons. The key goal here is to be just as productive in six hours as you were with a traditional eight-hour workday.
The six-hour proposal is not new
Several studies have looked at the effects of a reduced workday and employee productivity. A study in Sweden, where nurses reduced work hours to 6 hours, showed 64 percent more productivity than those who worked the traditional work hours. A Stanford study in 2014 demonstrated a non-linear relationship between hours worked and output. In this paper, “The Productivity of Work Hours,” they found employees at work for long hours may experience fatigue or stress that reduces their productivity and increases the probability of errors, accidents, and sickness. Long hours can lead to productivity loss and additional costs for the employer.
“By cultivating a flow-friendly workplace and introducing a shorter workday, you’re setting the scene not only for higher productivity and better outcomes, but for more motivated and less-stressed employees, improved rates of employee acquisition and retention, and more time for all that fun stuff that goes on outside of office walls, otherwise known as life.” – Steve Glaveski
