http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/consider-quality-work-not-hours-clocked-20131007
According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, as of 2011, Singapore led the world's wealthy countries in the number of hours worked per day. But Singapore is only 17th in the amount of gross domestic product workers produce every hour.
By the time an American has worked 6.5 hours, he will have produced more work value than a Singaporean has done after working 9.2 hours.
One reason why developing countries have longer work hours is to make up for their far lower levels of productivity.
In fact, if they do not raise their productivity fast enough, they risk becoming economically uncompetitive, even at a fraction of Western wage levels - because beyond a certain point, the longer work hours cannot compensate for an inability to raise productivity.
And there are further logistical constraints: A manual labourer can, through physical fitness, keep his productivity up for extended hours.
But can a lawyer, engineer or marketing director's mind stay as efficient and clear at 8pm as it was at 2pm?
Clearly, it takes more than long work hours to keep a competitor from eating your lunch.
You need to maximise the quality and value of your work produced, not the number of hours worked.
We should not forget one more very important thing: Singapore does not just compete against poor countries on wages; it also competes against wealthy countries on the basis of working conditions and lifestyle.
Why should a young, talented, well-educated Singaporean work till 7pm, enjoying life less while creating less economic value than he would by working only till 5pm in the United States?
All this implies that it may be possible to have shorter work hours, more time for economically "useless" leisure pursuits and higher productivity too.
Eric J. Brooks
No comments:
Post a Comment