The Case for a 21-Hour Work Week (More socialist agenda blow?)

Yahoo News ^ | 1/11/12 | Michael Coren

[Myrddin]

WTF? I work 10 to 12+ hours DAILY. Sometimes 7 days a week during crunch time. If I did less, we would not and could not meet our commitments to our customers. I could not earn an adequate living either. This is the same idiocy that cripples France and Germany.

[varyouga]

I always thought the idea of being paid for the hours you are present is wrong in most cases. You should be paid for what you actually do, not how much time it takes to do it. Items built, square feet designed, web pages completed, customers serviced, etc. The majority of hourly workers I know spend a good amount of those hours “looking busy”. They see no point in seeking more work because they get paid for the same 40 hours no matter what.

I ran and then sold a few successful small businesses before the credit collapse. I never paid by the hour. Only per order, per page, commission, etc. Being paid for actual work done encourages people to actually seek work and work better. Employees see more incentive to have your business succeed. People that could do more work in less time were greatly rewarded for it instead of slowing themselves down to be slightly faster than the next employee. And if someone messed up, they had to redo the work without more pay so it encouraged them to do it fast and right.

The only exception I see is “stand-by jobs” like gas station attendants and security guards. They have to be on constant stand-by for random customers or events and should be compensated for all their time, even if there are hours in between when they are waiting.

[saleman]

“I always thought the idea of being paid for the hours you are present is wrong in most cases”

Hey, I resemble that. I’m in the automobile business and we only get paid if we sell something. NO HOURLY!! The only problem with that is if you don’t get paid by the hour your employer figures “why not stay there all the time”. So, in my case that’s 50 to 70 hrs a week.

If I could come and go as I please then yea, that’s great. In the real world, not so much