preview

Shorter Work In America

Decent Essays

Among the many labor issues in America today, one of the most prominent being discussed is that of shorter shifts. Traditionally, eight-hour shifts were used to create a time frame for work; this seemed to cause better productivity and happier workers. During the Industrial Revolution, men, women, and even children were subjected to working eleven- to twelve-hour days, for six days a week, in a grimy, dusty factory. This did not work well at all and many died from disease brought on by stress and overwork. Still others died from unsafe working conditions including fires, building collapses, and injury from the machines they used. Henry Ford saw the problem with his employees working so many long hours. He quickly changed the long …show more content…

However, one must remember that frequent, short breaks help to refresh the mind, thus helping a job to be done right the first time. This saves time and money for everyone involved. Those for shorter workdays say that most people do their best thinking in the late morning and late afternoon. Instead of starting at eight in the morning, why not start at eight-thirty or nine? That way, a person will be more alert. They can still work for eight hours without cutting into too much evening time with their family. Shorter workdays rob employees of full-time benefits. This problem is doubled when one calculates in the fact that shorter workdays mean less pay. If an employee becomes sick or injured, it will cost him greatly to receive healthcare for it because of less benefits and less pay. In an office job, perhaps shorter, six-hour workdays would be plausible. However, if a job such as construction or something else requiring physical labor were to have six-hour shifts, many more people would have to be employed to complete the job on time. This means it costs an employer more money, and that could be quite dangerous for his

Get Access