Work productivity increases with larger screens

Larger computer screens increases workers productivity according to research. A large screen is not relevant in every situation. The modern knowledge worker will however profit from the increased workspace.

The shocking thing is that even though this—larger screen == higher productivity—is no news at all, most people and companies have not brought it into practice. Unless you are a trader at a bank or a graphical designer, chances are that you are still working with a 15 to 17 inch screen size.

A NY Times article from 2005 already discussed the benefits from larger computer screens:

The results? On the bigger screen, people completed the tasks at least 10 percent more quickly - and some as much as 44 percent more quickly. They were also more likely to remember the seven-digit number, which showed that the multitasking was clearly less taxing on their brains. Some of the volunteers were so enthralled with the huge screen that they begged to take it home. In two decades of research, Czerwinski had never seen a single tweak to a computer system so significantly improve a user’s productivity.

With today’s prices for large computer screens, every company should take a moment to research the benefits they can get from providing larger screens to its workers. Any worker spending most of his or her day doing intensive ‘office’ work (reading/writing documents, e-mailing, spreadsheets, presentations, (web) researching) qualifies for a larger screen. In some cases a dual (or multiple) screen setup is preferred.

Personally I advise screen sizes starting at 19 inch (4:3) or 20 inch (widescreen). 24 inch (widescreen) is the maximum for most people. Screen resolution should vary between 1280x1024 to any widescreen resolution (common resolutions: 1680x1050 or 1900x1200).

Imagine achieving a productivity increase of between 5 to 10 percent per worker. With the average worker being available for 200 days a year, that translates to an extra 10-20 days of work for your whole company. These are the ‘easy improvements with large gains’ that Finding Dutchland specializes in.