Comcast and Managing Overtime
Introduction to Problem
Can forced overtime hinder a manager's workforce? Companies require the extra effort per hour when the productivity increases. "Our customers are using our products more frequently than ever and in ways that were unimaginable a short time ago, " stated Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation. This statement was made during the conference call and webcast in 2005 for the Fourth Quarter and Year End Results. In 2005, Comcast's Consolidated Operation Income grew from $26.9 to $3.7 Billion (Comcast, 2006). As a result of Comcast's growth, workload has increased.
Constructs of the Problem
In the United States, at-will is the term used when an employee or employer can terminate the relationship without reason. With this in mind and attention to mandatory overtime, an employer can terminate his or her employee for refusing to perform mandatory overtime (Wikipedia, 2006).
English: Comcast service van, Ypsilanti Township, ...
Frances Perkins, who taught at ILR from 1952-1965,...
Official emblem of the Wage and Hour DivisionOrganizations force mandatory overtime on employess to work long hours in order to meet the demands of work volume. If the workers are performing high-levels overtime, the results can lead to stress in the workplace, lower moral, and decrease productivity. The effects of increased overtime cannot be easily measured. However, employee satisfaction surveys can be conducted in order to retrieve statistical feedback. The most visible problem is overtime is very expensive. Finally, negative variances attract unwanted attention and therefore, managers then can focus their on reducing overtime.
Measurements
From 1980 to 1999, annual work hours have grown 4 %. The annual hours amount, on average, an extra 1 and a ý an hours per week. During 1998, a middle income household worked 6 more weeks a year than a comparible household in 1989 (EPI, 2002). A survey conducted in 2002 by CCH, Inc., on unscheduled absences found that at...