Advantages & Disadvantages of Reducing Working Hours Enhanced Productivity. We won't just do social media strategies. As workers are expected to work five hours less per week, the companies have to consider additional recruitment to keep up with the former … Google certainly isn’t the first to propose the idea of a shortened work week. We’d all have more time to participate in local activities, to find out what’s … The shorter workday forced the team to prioritize effectively, limit interruptions, and operate at a much more deliberate level for the first few hours of the day. All that’s left to implement change is the political will and one or two influential organisations to take the first step. Shorter hours could lead to employees having the down time that they need to reenergise, thus arriving at the office feeling refreshed and energised (granted they don’t spend their extra free time partying). The businesses today are battling with overtime and paying a hefty price for the extra hours. But, with shorter working hours, the workload can increase to a great extent and shorter working hours, especially during these occasional emergencies, may suffocate an employee. Sweden does already have one of the shortest working weeks globally where only around 1% of employees work more than 50 hours a week, but as you can see from the table below, the UK is not very far behind. The overall aim of this study was to bring together research that looked at working time patterns in the UK and made comparisons with the EU and other developed countries, with a view to explaining why the UK workforce had some of the longest working hours in Europe. These challenges multiplied in the spring of 2020 as unheard of numbers of employees, for reasons of safety, started working … Perhaps a more flexible approach is called for such as flexi-time or home working alongside a general reduction in the working week. If you run a business, you can work less by delegating more tasks to employees. Long working hours mean long hours spent sitting in your office chair staring at your computer. It is expensive to implement for the employer in the initial stages with any benefits only appearing later and not always with a clear measurable financial advantage. Our specialists are a team that assists our partners improve their presence online by producing online marketing on a regular basis. Reducing work hours decreases your physical presence in your business or job role, which can cause you to miss out on meetings and training sessions that can help you stay up to date on business or company developments. This is true especially in the case of interns or recent graduates. People who work longer hours are more likely to experience heart problems and stroke, as well as mental health issues like depression, stress, and substance abuse. Shorter working hours really mean less work-related stress. The labor market continues to recover, but a stubbornly high rate of underemployment persists as more than five million Americans are working part-time for economic reasons (U.S. BLS 2015a; 2015b). It seems reasonable that a shorter working week can boost the demand for new employment while also provide a healthier working condition. A Smaller Carbon Footprint Countries with shorter working hours typically have a smaller carbon footprint so reducing our work week from 5 to 4 days could have an environmental benefit too. This was aimed at A reduction in income can strain your finances and make it difficult to meet your obligations. These include sleep issues, obesity, and an overall weakened immune system. Which leads to obvious health benefits: helps to reduce pressure on cardiovascular and nervous system, … With shorter hours, they have more willingness and time to devote to their studies. Reducing your working hours can allow more time for attending to personal tasks, and can give you... Ability to Pursue Business Ventures. The intended result would be Our experienced social media managers are motivated to make a enhancements to your social media marketing and reaching targets in a way that realistically makes a difference to your business goals. It might also reduce your income if you own a business in which your income depends in your direct involvement, such as freelancing or service businesses. Part-time work – working fewer hours per week than the typical 40 for a specific job; Flexitime – keeping flexible when employees work during the day; Advantages and disadvantages of a compressed work week . Less money – Generally, if you work less hours, you’ll make less money. We now know, according to A study published in The Lancet in the summer, that those who work longer hours significantly increase their chances of having a stroke. Here’s Why You Should Stop Right Now! Depending on the type of business, you might also be able to launch your business and begin earning money by working around your job hours. Although the eight hours per day is reasonable when compared to work hours in the late 18th century. Not only are many of this type of underemployed worker, by definition, scheduled for fewer For many jobs, 6 working hours is not enough, for example in a client facing role where it is the individual in demand rather than the role itself, a surgeon or barrister for example or school teacher. A healthier workforce means fewer sick days, and a happier work environment Juggling commitments outside of work, for example childcare or carer duties could be easier if hours at the office were shorter. The downside of working less. An additional day off affords employees a better work/life balance; The … Better work life balance. A great deal has to be taken into account from cost, return, competitive edge as well as more complex longer term benefits. It can be as simple as taking half an hour for lunch each day and leaving two hours early, working four long days instead of five, or doing a nine day fortnight rather than two five-day weeks. No legislation will limit excessive hours if workers feel it increases their sense of importance but for the rest of us, it is clear a reduction in the number of hours that we are required to work can only be a good thing for our health, happiness and general well-being. There are always distractions in the world of work so, for example on a normal 8 hour day, you perhaps lose 2 hours to distractions, would that mean a 6 hour day would end up as only 4 productive hours? At Chapple we specialize in sourcing candidates in external and internal communications, employee engagement, change and business transformation roles. Perhaps the Swedish report was a bit of a non-story, even though the results of the small studies were very encouraging, but it has revived the debate over working hours in the UK and Europe generally which has to be a good thing. A good work-life balance is absolutely essential when it comes to leading a … Employees that work more than 11 hours a day are 2.5 times more likely to … A shorter working day is very attractive to employees and results in lower staff turnover and makes it easier to recruit top people. However, Andrew Barnes, the founder of Perpetual Guardian, believes otherwise. This can help you approach your work with renewed enthusiasm and focus, which can improve your productivity. This could lead to consumer dissatisfaction and frustration. Not to mention that conflict in the office is often caused by tiredness and irritability, so it could even be … If all your employees are out of the office one day a week, that reduces all office maintenance fees by 20%, especially electricity. You might like these blog posts 5 Ways to Find Micro-influencers for Your Small Business, Every Generation Needs This From Your Communication Strategy, 11 Simple Steps That Will Help You Manage Your Business, and Why Your Business Needs Marketing Automation. Employees who already are working fewer hours … As mentioned above, I’m only making about 25% of what I was making at my old job. But what about the employer? Although, arranging a day of starting and finishing later to ensure interaction at … It … Experience gain Part-time jobs offer the opportunity to accumulate experience. The Disadvantages of 4 Day Work Week Trying to compress work hours Some people view a four day work week as doing the same amount they would usually do in 5 days, but compressed into ower number of days. These lengthy periods of sedentary behaviour are … If you are an employee, you can talk to your manager about limiting your work hours. Report summary: Working Long Hours: a Review of the Evidence, Volume 1 – Main Report. Our service is transparent and economical, which ensures that you get a great service and results that make a difference when you use our services. The Swedish city of Gothenburg recently proposed a six-hour workday in the hopes that workers will feel better mentally and physically. Workers were expected to log up to 16 hours. In terms of potential negatives for employers, if the standard work week is reduced to 30 hours, this could increase the chance of paying overtime for more hours worked, depending on how overtime laws were adapted to the new standard. It also could leave certain times uncovered by employees during regular business hours, requiring the hiring of more people. More productivity innovations. The concept of having a balance between work and leisure has been around since mid 1800 and the expression "work–life balance” was first used in the UK in the late 1970s. It’s about giving employees more flexibility to juggle the other aspects of their life and can be really helpful for anyone with caring responsibilities be it children, parents or dogs. All of us know someone for whom working late is a routine. We create and implement original social media marketing plans that help our customers accomplish their organisational objectives and build up their online footprint. You can spend the extra time writing a business plan, registering your business with state and local regulatory agencies, and finding resources for your business. The arguments are compelling and the evidence mounting that reducing the length of the working week would be a good thing for employer and employee alike. The advantages hugely outweigh the disadvantages." In addition, countries that practise shorter working weeks tend to have higher rates of happiness and their workers book less time off sick. Customer and client service problems: Customers and clients generally understand that employees aren’t going to respond to issues outside of regular work hours, but when something arises during a typical workday, it’s a different story. Shortening our working week means that employees don’t need to commute as much and large office buildings are only in use four days a week. So, before the research confirmed it, workers were already aware that reducing their working hours could benefit their health and general stress levels. Below we’ve listed the main advantages and disadvantages of a compressed work week: Advantages. Working fewer hours will result in lower earnings, if you are an hourly employee. Neglected social life. Lower Productivity. It turns out that it is not a nationwide legislation, but merely a few select businesses trialling the idea and one ongoing trial in nursing. I cut my work hours by 20% — these were the 5 best and 5 worst things about working less . The comprehensive study analysed data from 25 separate studies that monitored health of over 600,000 people from the US, Europe, and Australia for up to 8.5 years and found that people who worked 55 hours a week had a 33% greater risk of having a stroke than people who worked a 35-40 hour week, and a 13% increased risk of developing coronary heart disease. A shorter working day is a noble idea but some obstacles could make it difficult in practice: Reducing working hours could prevent companies working with countries in a different time zone. A healthier workforce means fewer sick days, and a happier work environment. Reducing the number of hours you work each week has its advantages, but it can also create problems. One of these disadvantages is that as beneficial as shorter working weeks might be; it won’t work for every industry. It can also interfere with developing strong relationships with employees or fellow team members, which can make you feel that your role is marginalized within your company. But the potential benefits of a shorter workweek include: Less employee exhaustion. Maybe not! Compressed hours allow employees to work their contracted hours over a fewer number of days. A separate study found that working 49-hour weeks was associated with poorer mental health, particularly in women. In 21 Hours, for instance, a Nef paper published in 2010, Anna Coote argued that such a reduction would create more jobs. Better health. See how you can avoid overtime with some simple tips and tricks. A stronger democracy. Working Overtime? It is generally suspected that employees who consider their work roles to be an important component of their identities, will be more likely to work longer hours and utilise the latest technology to do so. Plus, working longer hours (more than 10 hours a day) has been shown to have negative impacts on employee health. This may lead to poor performance or extension of deadlines. In competitive industries where you simply have to provide the same level of service as your competitors, you can’t clock off at 3pm if your competitors are still at their desks until 7pm. Some workers on extended work days may pace themselves differently than … It can also interfere with your ability to save for retirement, vacations and education expenses. People who feel better in themselves will usually be more productive and driven in their jobs. Research has shown that far from lowering productivity, shorter working days increase it by reducing physical and mental illness, absenteeism, worker turnover and early retirement. It can also mean a happy and potentially more productiv… Disadvantages of Flexible Working Hours 24 Hours Availability. 2016-03-31T15:45:00Z The letter F. An envelope. Flexible working: trials of the shorter working week have shown employee stress levels drop significantly. You will find it difficult to maintain a healthy social life when you work 60 or … Fewer overhead costs. Here is a survey. Contact us on 020 7734 8209 for more information about how we can help you find the right people for your business. Dragan Radovanovic and Shana Lebowitz. Can overtime be completely ruled out from your life? Time away from work can also help you accomplish work tasks in less time and with fewer errors. Reducing your working hours can allow more time for attending to personal tasks, and can give you the time you need away from your job or business to recharge and obtain sufficient rest. Juggling commitments outside of work, for example childcare or carer duties could be easier if hours at the office were shorter. Owning or working for a business can both offer opportunities for you to reduce your work hours. The longer hours someone works, the less productive they become, so cutting down the hours from the outset will encourage people to be more productive and they will have more energy to do so. Examining the pros and cons of a shorter working week makes it clearer: Introducing a shorter working week is inevitably going to be more advantageous to some industries and workers, but not all of them. In Europe, the Working Time Directive set up in 2003 has implemented a maximum 48-hour working week with many countries opting for fewer hours, including France with a 35-hour working week. It isn’t a new concept either, as a Toyota service centre in Gothenburg has been successfully running 6 hour days for 13 years resulting in a 25% increase in profit and numerous employee health and wellbeing benefits. This … Businesses like security companies and call centres for companies that offer critical services will have problems fulfilling customer promises using a 4-day workweek. Sleep deprivation is a real problem for many workers today. (The French government claimed that its 35-hour week – … I really only planned for 10% though, so 25% was quite a bonus. She also believes a societal shift towards shorter working hours would benefit the sector in a … A shorter working day is very attractive to employees and results in lower staff turnover and makes it easier to recruit top people. This is perhaps why the story of a shorter working week received so much attention. You may have seen reports in the press recently about how Sweden plans to adopt a 6 hour working day. 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