Hours Worked

How Many Hours Per Week do Most of Your Employees

Work?  Who Works the Most?  The Least?

 

The amount of time that employees spend at work can be indicative of several things.  For example if some employees are able to leave work early while others are working late there may be an issue in workload or employee efficiency.  If lower wage earners are consistently working more hours than their upper wage earning colleagues issues may arise out of a fear of inequity.  On the other hand, if the managers of the business are working extended hours on a regular basis it might be time to divide their workload or determine if there are any efficiency problems. 

 In many instances the amount of time spent physically at work isn’t the only work an employee may be doing.  There may be several times a week or even every day where some employees may take work home with them to complete.  If this is occurring and employees are working on their own time business owners might want to consider workload changes or wage changes to compensate the employee for the extra work.  It will be well worth the company’s money to keep good employees that work beyond what is required. 

 On the flipside are employees that consistently leave work early.  If this is happening in your business two things may be the cause.  Either the employee is very efficient at getting his or her responsibilities accomplished or they are leaving work to be accomplished on the next day or by a different employee.  In either situation action needs to be taken by managers.  For the efficient employee that gets work accomplished it might be helpful to challenge that employee with new tasks and responsibilities (and an increase in wage or benefits).  For the employees that leave work incomplete they might benefit from a frank discussion of what they are responsible for on a daily basis and what is required from them. 

 Effectively managing the time that employees spend at work and the work that they get accomplished will help your business achieve the most work in the most efficient manner possible.  It is also important for all employees to see their counterparts working efficiently and receiving equitable compensation for work.  The perception that all employees are pulling their own weight helps with office morale and eliminates shirking of responsibilities.  

 

Filed Under Human Resources | Leave a Comment  | March 18th, 2010

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