Future Business Ideas

The Federal laws concerned with employee work hours are basically enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor's Employment Standard Administration. The employee hours are defined as the time that the employee is available for the employer to award a job. Time spent in traveling up and down to the office does not come under employee hours. However employee working hours include traveling time on a business trip. "Working lunch" is classified as employee hours but not the lunch breaks.

Employees over 18 years are liable to work only 48 hours per week. This translates to 5 working days a week and 8 hours a day and a separate meal hour. In a 24 hour time the employees in night shift should not work more than 8 hour shifts. In a night shift employees are expected to work at least three hours between 11pm and 6am.

Managing employee schedule manually is time consuming and cumbersome task. Employee auto scheduling software is a potent tool that has a well updated database. This facilitates in preparing employee break schedules, assigning employees in various locations and even scheduling multiple shifts for an employee on the same day. This makes the availability of employees to work in a particular shift clearly.

It is observed that the employees who are comfortable with their work schedule have a tendency to turn up in office on time, better attendance and increased productivity. It is not advisable to change the work schedule fixed by the superior. This is because the work schedule is prepared to accommodate different people and sudden change would destabilize the system. Some of the flexible work schedules are flextime, working weekends, working second or third shifts and Working shifts with shortened lunch periods. Some of the modern business school operates by the principle that it is not the hours worked but the quality time invested for the work that gives an efficient output.

The flexible working system is an alternative to conventional 9 to 5 shifts. This is based on the principle employees must work a prescribed number of hours a pay period and be present during a daily "core time." And the employees can alter the office in and out timings based on their convenience. However the targets have to be met. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not state anything about flexible work schedules. In case of flex timing the company has the privilege to make the employees work 10 or more hours a day. This allows the employee to work only 4 days a week. The four day work week is very popular among employees because it gives them a three day weekend. This makes employees feel like they have more time off to enjoy life outside of work.