Михаил Попов - Working Day Reduction as the Ground of Modern Economic Development

Employees’ labour activities are a system of periods starting with a working day and finishing with seniority.

Working time duration is fixed in respect of each of these periods. Within more enduring elements of this system working time is a summed value of working time of less enduring elements: weekly working time is a sum of working hours during working days; monthly working time sums duration of working weeks up and so on.

That is why it is necessary to examine the value and dynamics of working day duration.

The Value and Dynamics of Average Work Shift Duration

Working day duration, as any period of labour activities, is determined by values of working time funds in social production and the services sphere necessary for satisfaction of social needs at the existing number of able-bodied people.

Let us study working day duration in production in several developed countries, taking into consideration total working time expenditures and the number of employees occupied in this sphere. This value much more corresponds to the actual value in manufacturing industries for which rhythmicity of the working process, its shift organization are typical. In other branches of production – agriculture, building, etc., – working time duration can significantly deviate from average duration because of the season factor. As manufacturing industries prevail in the production sphere of developed countries, we shall characterize a working day in it as a shift.

To fix average shift duration we shall use the above data on the average annual number of working hours per one employee. Let us take that the number of weekends and holidays is the same in the examined countries, and it is 110 days a year, and time of leaves is 30 days. Then there are 225 working days a year.

Table 33

Average Shift Duration in 1993 and 2007

So, at the supposition of the equal number of shifts per year average shift duration was between 7 and 11 hours in 1993. At that, the shortest shifts were in the European countries, and the longest ones were in Korea. Actually, taking into account less days of weekends and leaves in Korea, shifts in production were less enduring there. In 2007 the situation did not radically change, though 7 hours ceased to be the lowest limit of the working day value.

We have to state that, as in the situation of the dynamics of the average number of working hours per year, in conditions of reduction of the number of people occupied in production in most of the examined countries a decrease in the general working time fund did not lead to a corresponding decrease in shift duration. An 8-hour working day that was a strategic goal of workers’ movement in the end of the 19 thcentury, legitimated in the first decades of the 20 thcentury anyway, remains real for millions of industrial employees in the 21 stcentury.

A question arises, what could duration of a typical shift be in the condition of universal participation of able-bodied people in production?

Table 34

Average Shift Duration of Employees Combining Labour in Production and Rendering Services

Thus, at universal participation of able-bodied people in fulfilling production work already by 1990s average shift duration would be less than 3 hours in most of the studied countries.

There is no doubt that at the present dynamics of such shift duration prospects of achievement of a 3-hour working day is not seen for a few following decades. The matter is that at reproduction of old division of labour among people any increase in social labour productivity is accompanied by a decrease in the number of people occupied in production, and that is why remaining employees have to work for a much longer working day than they could at universal participation in production.

The Value and Dynamics of Average Working Time Duration in the Nonproduction Sphere

Working time duration in the services sphere is also determined by the ratio of the general working time fund and employment in it. As it was mentioned before, though this fund tends to increasing, however, employment in this sphere grows even faster in most of the countries.

Let us calculate average working time duration of employees of the studied sphere, supposing that their number of annual working days is the same as industrial workers’ one – 225.

Working day of nonproduction sphere employees also tends to reduction (except for Sweden) what is explained by outstripping growth of employment at increasing in the general working time fund.

Table 35

Working Day of Nonproduction Sphere Employees

One should have in view that services sphere labour, even rich in its content and fulfilled in favorable conditions, has an optimal measure of its duration determined by the effectiveness level and influence on performers’ health. Ericsson found that “expert performers engaged in practice for 21-35 hours per week but no more than three to five hours per day. Under complete freedom to work, these individuals did not spend more than those weekly totals, suggesting that this amount of effort was judged to be optimal for them”. This corresponds to Mckenzie’s conclusions that “long working hours and certain types of tasks can cause fatigue and stress which potentially damage cognition” [35].

The data at table 35 show that in all the examined countries average working time duration of services sphere employees exceeds 6 hours. It gives a reason to view it as excessive duration being beyond the scope corresponding to the highest effectiveness of labour.

Let us see how many hours per day on average employees would spend on rendering services in conditions of combination of this kind of activities and labour in production (table 36).

Obviously, at universal combination of labour in production with rendering services everyday work of services sphere employees would be 2-3 hours less than at present social economic inequality. It would be within the range of magnitudes that correspond to effective labour without health damage.

Table 36

Average Time of Rendering Services per Day at Combination with Production Work

Thus, the need for combination of different kinds of labour in the modern economy is confirmed.

Working Day Duration of Industrial Employees, Employees Occupied in the Nonproduction Sphere, and Employees Combining Labour in Production and Rendering Services

Continuity of processes of production and functioning of the services sphere requires combination of these kinds of activities to run regularly. Let us find out working time duration at their everyday combination.

Table 37

Working Day Duration at Daily Combination of Labour in Production and Rendering Services by Employees

At the made prerequisites working day duration, including time of labour in production and rendering services, would already be less than 6 hours in the USA and France, it would not exceed 7 hours in Canada, the FRG, Italy, and Sweden, and it would be longer than 8 hours only in Korea in 1993. The main part of working time would fall on labour in the nonproduction sphere.