Management Moments - The Overtime Question

Some years ago, I read great article in Business and Legal Reports about overtime. They were talking about the diminishing returns of overtime when you work longer than about 50 hours a week, because of the circadian rhythms of the body. Circadian rhythms tend to be patterned for “day” people, that is, within cycles of light and dark. Only about 14% of humans are nocturnal. They explained how other factors - such as ambient temperature, food intake, stress and exercise - can all influence the timing as well. Humans can only endure so much, and then we simply shut down. We may appear to be functioning, but it’s extremely rare for anyone to be able to function at our best capacity after around 50 hours of work. Thus, we are back to the value of rest, as discussed earlier this year.

Then, this morning, I’m listening to a video Simon Sinek discuss the concept of caring about your people more than about the numbers and finding out why they are not performing before firing them. He talked about knowing the whole person and helping them through their situation. I had to wonder: could it be that simple? Are they not performing properly anymore because they are working too many hours over what the human body can handle?

Should we factor this productivity science in whenever we demand overtime? When is it time to hire someone new, instead of continuing to demand more of the current staff?

Please comment below to share how your organization determines when it’s time to hire someone new vs. ask for more overtime? What formulas do you use? Who makes the determination?