
Working hours and overtime are limited by law in most countries. Is limiting working time a good idea? If so, what should be the limit? Vote!
Maximum working hours
It is widely accepted that workers should have some time to devote to their families, leisure activities, and rest. Entrepreneurs and self-employed people tend to work more hours or at least prefer that laws offer flexibility to the amount of time and to the allocation of working time. Working time regulations differ from country to country. There are daily, weekly, monthly or annual limitations to the maximum number of hours workers should work in many states. Moreover, countries tend to also regulate overtime, setting higher hourly rates and limits to the number of hours individuals can work beyond the standard woking hours.
Brief history of working time
Setting formal maximum working hours has been historically one of the main goals of labor movements and trade unions. The idea of maximum working hours was first proposed in the Manchester Quarter Session in the UK in 1784. a ten-hour day was suggested then. In 1815 the "Ten Hours Movement" was founded in England. In 1918, The Welsh social reformer Robert Owen presented a petition to the five main European powers, in a meeting in Aix-la-Chapelle, to establish working hours restrictions throughout Europe to avoid unfair competition. However this proposal was refused. In 1841 a French law limited the hours of children working in the mines and in 1842 the first child labour law was introduced in the USA (Massachusetts). The Ten Hour Act passed in the UK in 1847 was followed by a series of Factory Acts that regulated working conditions and limited the maximum of hours. In 1868 the US Congress limited to eight hours the daily working time of federal employees. Since the foundation of the International Association for Labour in 1900, many coutries gradually introduced maximum working hours (often eight-hour days) and set restrictions in terms of rest breaks, minimum paid holidays, and overtime.
Working time regulations
Today labor laws have proliferated and set particular limits to some jobs and tasks. Maximum working hours vary greatly across countries, in some countries regulation is reducing working time, while in others the trend is to make the limits more flexible for employers in order to foster competitiveness. Some examples:
- China: 40-hour week
- Japan: 8-hour work day and 40-hour weeks. Overtime limit: 15 hours a week.
- Mexico: 48-hour week.
- France: 35-hour week.
- United Kingdom: UK workers may "opt out" of the 48-hour week limit set by the European Union.
- United States: it does not have a formal maximum length of work week.
But what do you think? Is it a good idea to set strict limits to the working hours? How can we ensure the leisure and relaxation of workers while preserving competitiveness?
If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option.
New to netivist?
Join with confidence, netivist is completely advertisement free. You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties.
Join the debate
In order to join the debate you must be logged in.
Already have an account on netivist? Just login. New to netivist? Create your account for free.
You are viewing a filtered list of comments. Click the button above to view all comments.
HAVE YOU BEEN SCAMMED OF YOUR COINS AND WANTS TO GET IT RECOVERED BACK??
I have been in a financial mess for the past months, I’m a single mum with kids to look after. My sincere gratitude to the woman who commented on how she used GEO COORDINATES RECOVERY HACKER to recover her bitcoin and returned it to her wallet. I want to use this Medium to say big thanks to GEO COORDINATES RECOVERY HACKER for recovering my stolen crypto worth $750,220 through their illegal hacking and spamming skills. After some scammers gained access to my crypto-wallet and stole all my coins worth over $730,520. I was in great despair due to this situation. I can testify that this recovery agent is really a God sent to me. If you have been scammed off your funds in the past and you are looking for a way to get it back. You can reach out to him via email:
Email: geovcoordinateshacker@gmail.com
Website; https://geovcoordinateshac.wixsite.com/geo-coordinates-hack
WhatsApp +1 (512) 550 1646
Join the debate
In order to join the debate you must be logged in.
Already have an account on netivist? Just login. New to netivist? Create your account for free.