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Adapting Working Hours to Modern Needs

Adapting Working Hours to Modern Needs Working Hours D. Maric pattern of working time are conducive to jo b Over the past two decades standard hours individual more scope for finding the best satisfaction and enrichment, and encourage of work have been progressively reduced in balance between work, further study, leisure and rest. How large are the amounts of time feelings of solidarity and responsibility. They industrialised countries. At the same time, devoted to each of these, how do they relate clearly represent a further stage in social improved education and living standards to each other and what proportions should progress. They are tackling problems arising have led to more widespread concern with out of industrialisation and over-rapid the quality of life among those working in they bear to each other? These questions urbanisation by seeking to free the individual big cities, and more recently there have been lead on to the idea of a 'time budget' from needless restrictions and to replace an new developments in the distribution of applying not merely to each day or week but also to one's whole working life. authoritarian system by a consensual one working hours over the week and year. This allowing people to shape their own lives with had led to discussion of the wider question of One interesting idea arising out of the due regard t o the general interest In different flexibility in the lifetime distribution of study of patterns of working time is that of ways which are nevertheless complementary, working time. This report is intended only as an integrated insurance system replacing the the approaches are leading to a relaxation of an outline of new trends in the pattern of many existing schemes for income main­ traditional practices and opening up new working time that have emerged in industri­ tenance when people are not working. horizons limited only b y the need t o maintain alised market-economy countries, for 'Drawing rights' under the system would productivity, employment, good working readers with a general interest in present-day enable people to make use of income relationships and the public interest. labour problems. maintenance resources productively for study, training, general education, labour None of the innovations is a panacea. The new approaches to patterns of work­ education or learning a new job . In addition Though they are inter-related, each has its ing time can be considered according to units to allowing lifetime freedom of choice and particular characteristics, advantages and of time: transfers of income from one period to drawbacks. To be effective, they must be a (1) As regards the working day, they may another so that credit could be given for joint effort made after careful consideration consist of: education before entering employment, for of all the alternatives and of all their short- (a) a compressed working day; example, the system would also help to even term and longer-term repercussions. In the (b) staggering of the set hours; out fluctuations in the economy. If looked at past, decisions to reduce working time by (c) individual choice between alternative from this angle, educational leave becomes lowering the retirement age, lengthening timetables offered by management; an important factor in human resource holidays, prolonging the period of school (d) flexible working hours subject to development and an instrument of employ­ education or shortening the working week certain conditions and limits. ment policy. Also, the total number of hours have generally been taken in isolation with­ (2) The working week may be compressed worked in a lifetime might become one of the out much consideration of the difficulties into 5, 4½, 4 , or even 3 days. social indicators, to be read in conjunction which each individual measure may create in (3) As regards the working year, efforts are with the economic indicators when analysing other areas. I t is therefore useful to put them made t o stagger annual holidays. and evaluating the economic and social side by side in order to obtain an overall (4) As regards the individual's whole work­ position of a country. view of a question which, as we have seen, ing life, the new approach regards the lies at the centre of working life. Hours of work are now being approached age for starting work and the age of in qualitative terms, since they affect the The full report, Adapting working hours to retirement as flexible, and allows for pattern not only of working time, bu t also of modern needs, can be obtained from ILO substantial amounts of recurrent non-working time—in other words, the life­ Publications, International Labour Office, education during working life as a means time pattern of the individual. Since the new CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, price 15 of achieving greater social equality and trends developed at a time when economic Swiss francs, or from the ILO local offices in as a catalyst in the improvement of the activity was at a very high level, their future many countries. U.K. readers should write to social environment. direction seems likely to depend on continu­ the ILO London Office, 87/91 New Bond On this latter point, the boundaries of an ing economic growth and a steady increase Street, London W1Y 9LA. individual's working life are the age of in productivity—which were the factors creating additional income usable for a admission to employment and the age of further rise in the standard of living or for retirement. In practice people start work improving the quality of life. Experience somewhat later than the minimum age (the European average in 1965-70 was 17 years shows that , once a certain level is reached in 1 month, and the North American was 18 the satisfaction of material needs, people years 4 months). There is also a varying tend to look for the kind of quality of life which they have always felt they needed and proportion of people who retire later and desired. This explains the innovations in the some who retire earlier than the pensionable arrangement of working time that are being age. Between these two ages, total working time varies according to the length of the so keenly debated. The choices eventually working week, the volume of overtime, the made will no doubt vary in different coun­ length of rest periods and holidays, the time tries and according to local custom, levels of spent on training or study during the income and education, sex and family circumstances. working years, and periods of leave for special reasons (such as maternity). The new approaches directed towards the The current trend within this pattern is satisfaction and welfare of individuals, towards a less clear-cut division between the groups or the whole population, i.e. flexible formative years, time in employment and the hours, staggered hours, part-time employ­ years of retirement, so as to give the ment, staggering of holidays and the lifetime http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Management Research News Emerald Publishing

Adapting Working Hours to Modern Needs

Maric, D.
Management Research News , Volume 1 (2): 1 – Feb 1, 1978
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
0140-9174
DOI
10.1108/eb027692
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Abstract

Working Hours D. Maric pattern of working time are conducive to jo b Over the past two decades standard hours individual more scope for finding the best satisfaction and enrichment, and encourage of work have been progressively reduced in balance between work, further study, leisure and rest. How large are the amounts of time feelings of solidarity and responsibility. They industrialised countries. At the same time, devoted to each of these, how do they relate clearly represent a further stage in social improved education and living standards to each other and what proportions should progress. They are tackling problems arising have led to more widespread concern with out of industrialisation and over-rapid the quality of life among those working in they bear to each other? These questions urbanisation by seeking to free the individual big cities, and more recently there have been lead on to the idea of a 'time budget' from needless restrictions and to replace an new developments in the distribution of applying not merely to each day or week but also to one's whole working life. authoritarian system by a consensual one working hours over the week and year. This allowing people to shape their own lives with had led to discussion of the wider question of One interesting idea arising out of the due regard t o the general interest In different flexibility in the lifetime distribution of study of patterns of working time is that of ways which are nevertheless complementary, working time. This report is intended only as an integrated insurance system replacing the the approaches are leading to a relaxation of an outline of new trends in the pattern of many existing schemes for income main­ traditional practices and opening up new working time that have emerged in industri­ tenance when people are not working. horizons limited only b y the need t o maintain alised market-economy countries, for 'Drawing rights' under the system would productivity, employment, good working readers with a general interest in present-day enable people to make use of income relationships and the public interest. labour problems. maintenance resources productively for study, training, general education, labour None of the innovations is a panacea. The new approaches to patterns of work­ education or learning a new job . In addition Though they are inter-related, each has its ing time can be considered according to units to allowing lifetime freedom of choice and particular characteristics, advantages and of time: transfers of income from one period to drawbacks. To be effective, they must be a (1) As regards the working day, they may another so that credit could be given for joint effort made after careful consideration consist of: education before entering employment, for of all the alternatives and of all their short- (a) a compressed working day; example, the system would also help to even term and longer-term repercussions. In the (b) staggering of the set hours; out fluctuations in the economy. If looked at past, decisions to reduce working time by (c) individual choice between alternative from this angle, educational leave becomes lowering the retirement age, lengthening timetables offered by management; an important factor in human resource holidays, prolonging the period of school (d) flexible working hours subject to development and an instrument of employ­ education or shortening the working week certain conditions and limits. ment policy. Also, the total number of hours have generally been taken in isolation with­ (2) The working week may be compressed worked in a lifetime might become one of the out much consideration of the difficulties into 5, 4½, 4 , or even 3 days. social indicators, to be read in conjunction which each individual measure may create in (3) As regards the working year, efforts are with the economic indicators when analysing other areas. I t is therefore useful to put them made t o stagger annual holidays. and evaluating the economic and social side by side in order to obtain an overall (4) As regards the individual's whole work­ position of a country. view of a question which, as we have seen, ing life, the new approach regards the lies at the centre of working life. Hours of work are now being approached age for starting work and the age of in qualitative terms, since they affect the The full report, Adapting working hours to retirement as flexible, and allows for pattern not only of working time, bu t also of modern needs, can be obtained from ILO substantial amounts of recurrent non-working time—in other words, the life­ Publications, International Labour Office, education during working life as a means time pattern of the individual. Since the new CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, price 15 of achieving greater social equality and trends developed at a time when economic Swiss francs, or from the ILO local offices in as a catalyst in the improvement of the activity was at a very high level, their future many countries. U.K. readers should write to social environment. direction seems likely to depend on continu­ the ILO London Office, 87/91 New Bond On this latter point, the boundaries of an ing economic growth and a steady increase Street, London W1Y 9LA. individual's working life are the age of in productivity—which were the factors creating additional income usable for a admission to employment and the age of further rise in the standard of living or for retirement. In practice people start work improving the quality of life. Experience somewhat later than the minimum age (the European average in 1965-70 was 17 years shows that , once a certain level is reached in 1 month, and the North American was 18 the satisfaction of material needs, people years 4 months). There is also a varying tend to look for the kind of quality of life which they have always felt they needed and proportion of people who retire later and desired. This explains the innovations in the some who retire earlier than the pensionable arrangement of working time that are being age. Between these two ages, total working time varies according to the length of the so keenly debated. The choices eventually working week, the volume of overtime, the made will no doubt vary in different coun­ length of rest periods and holidays, the time tries and according to local custom, levels of spent on training or study during the income and education, sex and family circumstances. working years, and periods of leave for special reasons (such as maternity). The new approaches directed towards the The current trend within this pattern is satisfaction and welfare of individuals, towards a less clear-cut division between the groups or the whole population, i.e. flexible formative years, time in employment and the hours, staggered hours, part-time employ­ years of retirement, so as to give the ment, staggering of holidays and the lifetime

Journal

Management Research News – Emerald Publishing

Published: Feb 1, 1978

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