How Maximum Working Hours Should Work for You

2008-07-21 12:34:32

( Computers )



Meaning of Maximum Working Hours

US labor laws have set limits to the maximum hours that employees should work in companies to forty hours a week. Aside from the weekly maximum, the employee is also entitled to at least 24 hours of time away from the work premises for rest and leisure.

As an employee, you are expected to work only these hours as your regular schedule. Anything over and above it is considered overtime, and your employer will have to pay you a proportionate amount based on your computed hourly wage. If you had to render overtime on weekends, evening hours or legal holidays, you will receive more overtime bonus.

Comparison with Other Countries

The 40-hour maximum working hours is quite normal for typical US companies, as well as many other countries in Asia, Africa and South America. UK working hours are also about the same.

But compared to the EU working time directive, the US maximum working hours may seem like a lot. Many EU countries, especially France, require their employees to render only 35 hours per week as legal working hours. Besides the shorter maximum working hours, many Europeans also enjoy vacation leave periods of at least one month.

Recently, the French government has been looking into lengthening the maximum working hours as well as shortening vacation time with the goal of increasing people's income and purchasing power.

Coping with Maximum Working Hours

While it may not always be easy to be busy at work for at least eight hours a day, you can apply some strategies to make your work less stressful and more productive.

Before you start working each day, make a list of the things you need to do and rank them in terms of priority. Begin working, but handle each task only once if possible. If you encounter obstacles to accomplishing one task, determine if it's a priority. If not, set it aside first and do the rest of the tasks before taking it up again.

If you experience pressing problems with some of your functions, by all means talk to your manager about it. You can ask for extra help, or the troublesome task can either be suspended or reassigned to someone else.

You can arrange to work from your home or have flexible working hours. These alternatives to the traditional nine-to-five schedule may improve efficiency and overall work attitude.


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