Time Study Consulting

The Impact of Overtime on Non-Work Hours

We usually conduct our time and motion study projects using the TimeCorder device.  However, from 2003 – 2010 we asked visitors to a previous version of our web site to fill out the Tabulator. It tracked 11 major categories; work hours, family time, meal, television, community, spouse time, chores, me time, commuting, personal care and sleep.

I presented the findings in Oxford last summer, talking about the effects of overtime hours on other areas outside of work.

The Globe and Mail picked up the study and reported on it today.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/morning-manager/tv-time-outstrips-family-time-canadian-survey-finds/article2246080/

Four Seconds of Silence Lost Forever

Want to hear the shortest radio program on the air? It’s onCanada’s CBC Radio just before 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. A few seconds before the hour, you’ll hear a countdown consisting of  a series of short beeps from the National Research Council, followed by a period of silence, then a long beep, marking 1:00 p.m. A deep-voiced announcer provides the commentary, short as it is.

Now, about that period of silence. A while back, the gap between the last short beep and the long beep was ten seconds. That’s what the announcer said. “The beginning of the long dash, following ten seconds of silence, marks 1:00 p.m., eastern standard time.” And during those ten seconds, nothing happened. No commercials. No light music. No ticking. Just silence.

But in May of this year, quite suddenly, the silence was shortened. There is no longer a ten-second void between the end of the short beeps and the beginning of the long beep. Now, it’s just six. Yes, only six seconds to savor a quiet, uncluttered, noiseless universe. It doesn’t take a sophisticated time study to conclude that four seconds have been lost forever.

Why the change? More time for radio programming perhaps. But what’s the rush? In our push to speed things up, to squeeze out every bit of valuable time, what happened to silence? Where did the time go for reflection, for calm, for thought?

So now it is time to take back your time. The next time you get a chance, perhaps right now, just take a moment. Better yet, take ten moments. One after the other. And do nothing. Don’t feel the urge to fill the silence with noise. Just sit. Wait. Contemplate. Listen. And enjoy the silence.

Your time is worth it.

(You can hear the old version of the countdown here: )

http://archives.cbc.ca/science_technology/technology/clips/5772/

The Administrative Time Hog

Managers spend much of their time doing everything but managing. With all of the daily crises, pressures, and trivial tasks that are thrown at them, it is tough for the typical manager to stay focused on the things that are important. So it is not surprising that administrative tasks are a massive time hog. Read more »

A Time and Motion Study for the 21st Century

Watch our 2-minute video below to see how our time studies improve productivity.
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The TimeCorder is an easy way to measure how employees spend their time. Our time study consulting has benefits for process improvement, time management, work measurement, benchmarking and more. Best of all, employees enjoy the process – we achieve an employee participation rate of 94 % – people really enjoy the process because it is anonymous. That’s why we call it a user-friendly time and motion study. Call us at (416) 762-3453 or email mark@GetMoreDone.com to find out how your organization can benefit.

When Do Employees Work Overtime?

When do most employees work overtimes at the office? Do they go in early or do they stay late after work? If you want to catch them, what would be the best time to find them? Data from our work measurement studies provides some insights.

If one considers a “normal” work week for knowledge workers to begin at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 5:00 p.m., this would add up to 40 hours per week, including lunch and breaks.

We examined time use by employees who tracked their own time using the innovative TimeCorder device. All of the data is anonymous, so employees felt comfortable in tracking the time they spent on work activities. Across a broad range of industries, our data shows that the average employee works 46.7 hours per week. This means that they work just over an hour per day extra, assuming a base of a 40-hour week.

For this analysis, we looked at people who work more overtime hours than the average . Examining the pattern of activity among 235 employees who work over 50 hours, TimeCorder data shows the average time worked for this subset of workers is 55.5 hours per week. 72% of these hours (or 40 hours per week) are completed during the 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. period. Of the remainder, 19% occur prior to 9:00 a.m. and only 9% occur after 5:00 p.m.

So overtime work occurs more in the morning than in the evening.

An expanded work day shows the same pattern. When the bookends of the day are extended one hour earlier and one hour later, the result is a work day that stretches from 8:00 a.m. in the morning until 6:00 p.m. at night. Among those with high overtime hours, the total time worked during this period now represents 85% of all hours. Earlier in the morning than that, hours worked are equivalent to 10% of the total. Meanwhile later in the evening, overtime hours represent just 5% of the total.

Clearly, when people work long hours, there is a greater tendency to come in early and do their work before the start of the official work day. The chart below show the percent of time spent during each of the 24-hour periods of the day, starting at midnight, the “0” hour.

(On the chart, it appears as if work drop off in the afternoon. This is because some  employees shift their hours by arriving very early in the morning and finish their day by 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. )

What does this mean for organizations? If they plan to provide snacks to those who work overtime, breakfast items may be more appropriate than dinner items. And if extra meetings need to be scheduled, employees may be more willing to come in early than to stay late. Finally, energy levels may be higher in the morning than at the end of a day when some employees have already worked ten hours or more.

Undestand the hours of work when you are most productive. Your time is worth it!

Hours Worked By Job

Who works the longest hours? The sales rep trying to firm up a deal? The president who has to solve a delicate legal issue? Not surprisingly, there are a range of work hours, based on results from a number of time studies we have conducted using our proprietary TimeCorder device. Read more »