Four Day Work Week & Productivity

In the scheduling context, several different alternatives to the standard 40hour per week, eighthour per day work week had been suggested, and, on limited scales, implemented. Among these alternatives were job sharing, flextime, and the fourday work week. This current research study examined the fourday work week alternative.

In the 1990s, organizations must develop structures and systems which will permit them to integrate often conflicting demands. One set of often conflicting demands pits employee pressures for changes in the standard 40hour per week, eighthour per day work week against organizational demands for

productivity increases. A change in the standard work week need not lead to productivity reductions. The effect of such a change on productivity will depend largely on the structure of the new system, and how well the characteristics of the new system meshes with organizational requirements. An ill considered, hasty change could, potentially, cause a serious deterioration in prod

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. Productivity analysis permits a manager or administrator to evaluate the efficiency of the organizational function for 14which such an analysis is made (Kendrick, 1983). The analysis of productivity, therefore, is a significant and valuable managerial tool. When productivity is defined as the output per employee per hour of work, a productivity ratio can be established (Duncan, and Frumkin, 1982). In such instances, the ratio is determined by using output as the numerator, and by using input as the denominator. Often, productivity is measured by stating output in monetary terms. This approach provides false measurements, unless the constantdollar concept is employed. The constantdollar concept accounts for inflation. Another approach to the measurement of productivity is by stating output in unit quantities. In this approach, it is not necessary to adjust for the effects of inflation. This approach, too, has its deficiencies, however. One example of the deficiency may be seen in the automobile manufacturing industry. In that industry (before the widespread introduction of robotics), more worker hours were required to produce an automobile in 1979 than was required in 1959. This difference, however, did not neces
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Approximate Word count = 6972
Approximate Pages = 28 (250 words per page)

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