In a study by the University of Washington across 149 employee-supervisor relationships, it was found that employees who started work earlier in the day were rated by their supervisors as more conscientious, and thus received higher performance ratings.
But is that the only reason to make an effort to get into work early tomorrow?
Here’s 5 others to convince you.
1. You’ll probably enjoy a better commute
For most people the commute involves a battle to get into the office for 9am. Whether you travel by foot, car, train, or, in extreme cases, plane, you’ll invariably become stressed during the journey.
Traffic jams, being packed into a train carriage, unable to get a seat or being swept along in a wave of pedestrians are all symptoms of the rush hour.
The benefits of an early start means that you’ll avoid this stress by allowing you to miss the height of rush hour and all the stresses it brings.
Cruising to work uninhibited, strolling onto and getting a seat on the train or just being able to walk along a quiet street in the early morning are all much nicer ways to start the day, will help to get you in the right frame of mind and generally is a better way to prepare for the office.
2. You’ll get some quality time
Another advantage to coming to work early is that arriving at the office before your colleagues is a very effective way to focus on work and avoid the usual distractions of a busy office.
Being able to concentrate wholly on your workload makes for a super-productive period and you’ll find that it’s potentially the most beneficial time of the day.
It’s not just colleagues questions or requests for assistance that you’ll avoid either. Working ‘out of hours’ will also mean that you’ll not receive external emails or calls either (other than spam of course), so you won’t need to worry about switching between what you’re doing and checking the normally never ending stream of incoming messages.
3. You’ll get noticed
If you were to start work early and be set up when your colleagues and boss arrive, this will do wonders for your personal brand and potentially your career.
As mentioned above, the perception from others will be that you’re a more conscientious employee who’s working hard and focusing on driving the business forward.
Your work mates will also take note and it may inspire them to also sop hitting the snooze button, in order to get more done or just not be outdone by you!
4. You might be able to leave early
Depending on your employer’s working time policies about starting early it may entitle you to leave earlier than usual too.
This carries with it not only the commuting benefits that you see in the morning by starting early, but also allows you more time in the afternoon to enjoy the rest of day away from the office.
Spending more time with family and friends, on your interests, hobbies or just using the time to get things done that you otherwise wouldn’t have time for, will give you a better sense of ‘work life balance’.
This in turn will make you feel happier, motivate you and put you in the right frame of mind to be a productive and valued employee.
5. You won’t be trying to catch up all day
One great way to spend the extra time in the morning is to plan your day or get ahead with your daily tasks. The ability to get the time consuming admin, such as responding to outstanding emails, completed before you would normally even get into the office will leave you the rest of the day to focus on proactive activities.
Not constantly trying to catch up with things will reduce your stress levels, avoid the dangers of rushing to complete tasks and put you in a better, more confident frame of mind generally.