Report on extended working hours in Australia: counting the cost
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to count the cost of working longer hours on the family and the community.
Issues covered
- the changing nature of work
- why work long hours
- impact of extended hours of work
- reduced sleep
- fatigue
- accident risk
Outcomes
The report suggests that while the benefits (higher productivity) associated with extended hours of work have been willingly accepted, the true costs are not well captured and may constitute a work practice that is unsustainable in the long-term.
The potential benefits of limiting hours of work are significant:
- increased unit productivity per employee per hour
- reduced stress, improved morale and commitment
- reduced costs through improved occupational health and safety record
- reduced lateness and absenteeism
- increased staff retention and
- increased return on training investment
Date created
28/08/2001
This report has been broken into twelve parts
Report - Extended Working Hours in Australia: Counting the Costs (PDF, 960 KB)
Appendix A (PDF, 122 KB)
Appendix B (PDF, 112 KB)
Appendix C (PDF, 52 KB)
Appendix D (PDF, 64 KB)
Appendix E (PDF,134 KB)
Appendix F (PDF, 6.3 MB)
Appendix G (PDF, 3.5 MB)
Appendix H (PDF, 97 KB)
Appendix I(PDF, 62 KB)
Appendix J (PDF, 70 KB)
Appendix K (PDF, 2 MB)
Last updated July 26, 2005
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