The Purpose of Daylight Savings in the Business World

According to Statista, only 40% of countries around the world currently implement daylight savings time (DST), although about 140 countries in total have used daylight savings at some point.

From the US to the UK and plenty of other locations around the world, daylight savings is implemented in an effort to make the most of the sunlight every day.

However, the practice is quite controversial – not everybody loves going through the changing of the clocks every year, not only because it means losing an hour of sleep in Spring, but also because there are ramifications for both business and everyday life.

 

How Does Daylight Savings Work? 

 

In the most basic sense, the idea of DST is to shift an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening by means of adjusting clocks. To do this, clocks are moved an hour forward in the Spring and an hour back in the fall.

The exact way in which DST is implemented depends on the country (and sometimes even the region), but normally, clocks are set an hour ahead around March. Essentially, if the time is 02:00, it’ll be changed to 03:00. This extends the amount of evening daylight people get to enjoy.

Then, the clocks are set an hour back again in the Autumn, normally around October or November. For instance, the time would change from 02:00 to 01:00. Essentially, the Autumn shift means reverting to standard time so that as the days get shorter, people will be able to enjoy as much daylight as possible.

 

The Purpose of DST

 

Daylight savings is implemented to allow people to make the most out of daylight hours, and there are a few primary ideas that motivate this.

First, and foremost, operating more while it’s light results in energy savings as it means that the need for artificial lighting in the evening is reduced.

Second, DST means people will have more time for outdoor activities, especially like sports, as well as social events and other types of activities.

Finally, another major reason behind implementing DST is to try and encourage a boost in productivity, both for individuals and for businesses and even industries more broadly.

 

 

What Impact Does DST Have On Businesses?

 

Changing the clocks can have both positive and negative effects on various different sectors, which is partially why the practice is so controversial.

Here are some of the main effects that implementing DST has on businesses.

 

Employee Productivity and General Wellbeing

 

One of the most noteworthy effects that DST has on businesses is its influence on employees’ productivity. Research shows that transitioning into DST in Spring tends to result in a temporary dip in workplace efficiency while people take some time to adjust.

Some of this has to do with losing an hour of sleep which can lead to fatigue, reduced concentration and even more absenteeism. In fact, in some places, the number of workplace injuries ad errors tend to increase dramatically immediately following the time change while people are still adjusting to a loss of sleep.

At the same time, however, the extra hour of daylight in the evening during DST also tends to boost employee morale. People tend to feel a little bit more energised when they’re able to use the time after work to do outdoor activities or enjoy social events. This tends to result in generally improved mental well-being and productivity.

Conversely, when the clocks switch back in Autumn, many people experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which isn’t great for productivity, mood and motivation levels.

 

The Influence of DST On Consumer Behaviour and Retail Businesses

 

For retail companies, DST can provide a boost to business, especially during summer and spring. The extra hours of daylight tend to encourage more people to spend time outdoors, and that tends to lead more consumers to go shopping, resulting in increased spending. This is especially true for companies that rely on foot traffic.

On the other hand, the Autumn transition tends to reduce consumer activity, because fewer hours of daylight means that people are discouraged from staying out late. Indeed, many retailers actually have to adjust their marketing and operational strategies in order to compensate.

 

Energy Costs and Savings

 

One of the initial motivations that was used to encourage the implementation of DST was its potential to reduce energy consumption by making better use of daylight and reducing the need for artificial lighting. Although many people argue that the actual energy savings from DST are very low.

 

Coordination with Global Markets

 

For businesses that operate across multiple time zones, especially companies that are involved in international trade or communication, DST can introduce additional complexity. The time shift may result in mismatches between working hours in different countries, leading to scheduling challenges and disruptions in global operations.

Thus, businesses may need to adjust their meeting times or operational hours to account for the time difference, which can be both time-consuming and costly.