Lancaster, PA – Reduce Overtime in Your Business | Tips From a Local Consultant

Are your employees working long hours? Read to study some valuable tips to reduce business overtime.

Although the official American workweek is 40 hours, employees have been reported to work long hours. In fact, the US is regarded as the most overworked developed nation in the world. According to research, 66.5% of females and 85.8 % of males work more than 40 hours a week. You’ll be surprised to know that Americans work 260 more hours per year than the British workforce, 499 more hours a year than French employees, and 137 more hours a year than Japanese workers.

If you’re an American business owner and form part of the ‘overtime work’ trend, you must understand that working long hours does not increase productivity. As confirmed by a CNBC report, an increase in overtime directly impacts health, which ultimately reduces productivity.

Hence, if you wish to reduce overtime in your business, follow these tips from a local corporate consultant.

Offer Flexible Work Options

One of the most effective solutions to reduce overtime is to offer flexible work options. Works with flexible schedules tend to make better and more efficient use of their time. This greatly reduces the need for working overtime.

On top of that, a flexible work policy also reduces employee turnover and continual understaffing, which are the main causes of overtime work. Interestingly, job seekers overwhelmingly prefer to work at companies with flexible work options.

However, it can take time before you can find a flexible work schedule that’s right for your business. You’ll need to test different schedules, tracking their impact on employee engagement and worker fatigue. 

Assist Employees in Time Management

Many people face trouble planning and prioritizing responsibilities, which unnecessarily makes them work longer. To help such employees improve their efficiency and time management skills, conduct engaging training sessions. The training must cover guidelines on how to prioritize the tasks. You must also have clear timelines in place and, after the training, track any changes in their employees’ progress.

Implement a Cap

Sometimes, overtime work becomes so pervasive it results in an abuse of your overtime pay rate. To make sure that the overtime pay remains within your payroll budget, consider setting a cap on the overtime limits. This can be a policy specifying the total number of hours an employee can work during a full workday. When devising such a policy, be sure to take into account the needs of your workers, such as the number of extra hours they regularly need to complete their work.

Trace and Eliminate Time Theft

Did you know that time theft costs around $11 billion annually to US employers? According to Software Advice research, 43% of the surveyed employees responded that they exaggerate the amount of time they work in work shifts. Now that you know that overtime can be accumulated by unethical means try your best to uncover time theft and take actions to eliminate them.

While the above-discussed measures can help reduce overtime in your business, you may need more comprehensive advice to increase employee engagement and productivity.

For expert advice on improving staff efficiency, book a consultancy with Trusted Advisors Network today.