Issue 213 A 30 hour work week November 25, 2013

Currently the United States mandates by law a 40 hour work week with time and a half of pay being given for each hour after that. But there is talk of reducing that number to 30. So let’s discuss the cost and the benefits.

Benefits: Henry Ford was the man who set the standard for the 40 hour work week all those years ago. Many businesses would eventually copy it with it finally being set as the legal standard. The reason why it was copied so much was that it actually improved production in the factories and in other businesses. Thus, the concept of decreasing the 40 hour work week to 30 is believed to have the same effect. Not to mention, if this change occurs, the worker will therefore get time and a half worth of pay after the 30th hour by law. So we have two main benefits, a more efficient workforce and greater chances for the average low wage worker to earn more money.

Already workers hours are being pushed back to the 20 to 25 hour range due to new trends in business. The reason Henry Fords 40 hour work week idea was put into law was that some businesses would have there workers working 60 or more hours a week. Today the incentive is to cut down on hours to the bare minimum. This may in part be due to incentives perpetuated by the government such as forcibly providing health care if your business has a specified number of workers who work a certain number of hours. It may also be due to technology which renders a traditional staff load as redundant and thus less man power is needed. What ever the reason, the trend by business is to reduce the number of workers working per hour which is turning the United States into a part time work force. As such, the 30 hour work week is envisioned to make it easier for the worker to get their hands on higher pay.

Costs: The costs themselves seem to be negligible. Aside from a belief that greater efficiency will result, the only down side is that the 30 hour work week may push more people into the full time worker category. Some of you may wonder why this is bad, even though it is something good as they will have access to benefits. This is because businesses may further reduce hours and even benefits to absorb the extra costs. The reason this would occur is because small businesses will be ill equipped to handle the rules and regulations mandated by government with so many people being pushed to full time. And those that wish to escape it will simply reduce hours of the worker so that they will not even be considered full time and thus the worker may actually loose money or be faced with the business possibly shutting down. So this change will mainly help big businesses while suppressing poorer and smaller ones.

Also, as a libertarian, the government should not be mandating how long the work week is or how much a person should be paid. It should be the market that dictates the persons wage based on their skills and capabilities. The majority of the time the skilled laborer will gain enough experience while working to be worth the larger income. Those that want more money will leave for higher paying jobs once they become available. As such, the work place as part of the free market usually takes care of itself.

Conclusion: I am in favor of the 30 hour work week. The only reason I am though is that businesses are depressing workers hours due to the changing nature of the market. If the government was not interfering so much we may already have a 30 hour work week. My own job as a pharmacy technician is considered full time at 30 hours (yes I am a full time worker). So, in my opinion, businesses will naturally trend toward this new standard on their own if they are given enough time. So if the change does occur, it should be announced a year or two earlier so that businesses will have a chance to adapt so that the negatives do not do any immediate harm.