Why Staff Shouldn’t Work More than 40 hours a week

In case you hadn’t noticed, many western economies are labouring under a long hours culture. For example, 3 out of 4 Americans work more than 40 hours per week with 1 in 3 putting in more than 50 hours per week. The picture is the same in the UK, with an Austin Knight study showing that two thirds of employees are working  more than 40 hours a week and a quarter are working over 50 hours a week.

Many employers will look at this and think great, that is, “more hours, means more output and profit”.

But, this is not necessarily true as studies show that after 8 hours of work, productivity decreases by 50%, which means that increasing from 40 to 60 hours work a week will only yield an extra 25% of output, which means that productivity is actually declining.

As well as this, people who work 60 hours will start to see a incremental decline in productivity after four weeks of doing this.

Furthermore, people working 11 hours a day are 2.5 times more likely to be depressed than those working 8 hours a day so you are also likely to see an increase in sick days if your business operates a long hours working culture, which will also hit output and profits.

Lets be clear, I am not suggesting that employees cease working overtime. Not at all, as overtime gives an organization the ability to be adaptable and flexible in the face of a changing business environment.

Of course, employers should make use of overtime on an occasional basis to help the business temporarily increase output, but when this overtime starts happening on a continuing basis, you will be developing an unhealthy and inefficient long hours that will harm/ limit the profit potential of your business.

It makes sense to be regularly reviewing your overtime levels and if you are witnessing excessive levels of overtime on a continuing basis, it could be a sign you need to hire a new staff member and/or that your need to introduce some efficiencies into our processes.

You can view the supporting  infographic from onlineMBA.com below.

But, if you are looking for an alternative to 40 hour a week working, try the link below: The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

Looking for alternatives to the 40 hour week? 

The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich