Are your staff going home on time?

Do you find yourself staying late at work more than you'd like or does your Smart Phone mean you are constantly connected to the office? 

Well it turns out you aren’t the only one with Australians working on average 7 hours overtime each week, and this unpaid overtime equates to $109.6 billion or 7.4 per cent of GDP. 

It has been well documented that a poor work and life balance has a direct impact on our health, relationships and workplace. A recent report out of the UK found that one in five employees had taken a day off sick because they could not cope with the pressure of going into work, with most citing excessive workload and/or long hours as the most significant causes of stress in the workplace. 

Now in its fifth year, Go Home on Time Day (Wednesday 20 November) is an annual initiative of The Australia Institute, in partnership with beyondblue. The Day is a light-hearted way to start a serious conversation about work-life balance - and we are keen supporters of the cause!

As a provider of automated Workforce Management systems, we are often asked about the value of tracking employee time and attendance data when an organisation only has salaried staff on the books. 

In our opinion, if you don't measure it you can't manage it. By having all staff clock in and out of work, managers and supervisors can easily identify just how much unpaid overtime their team members are putting in, and if there is a particular pattern forming. 

What's more, if your employees have to frequently work extra hours, workplace health and safety may be jeopardised through increased fatigue, potentially leading to a workplace accident and subsequent legal action. 

Armed with this information you may be able to justify hiring additional staff or bringing in contract labour at times of increased activity, or at the very least acknowledge the effort being put in by your team - perhaps introducing a Time in Lieu scheme or incentives for those that are working longer hours. 

In the long run, this will ultimately benefit your business as a motivated and happy workforce generally means increased productivity. 

To find out more or get your organisation involved in Go Home on Time Day see: http://www.gohomeontimeday.org.au/

Suffering from overworkitis? Take a dose of "Go Home on Time" today!

Do you struggle to clock off on time? Never enough hours in the day to do all the things you want to do? Does having a Smart Phone mean you are always connected to the office?

 
New research by The Australia Institute in the lead up to “Go Home On Time Day” has found that, 6.8 million Australians' personal time is interrupted by work phone calls or emails, 2.2 million don't know what time they will be heading home from work when they leave the house in the morning, and 4.8 million find it hard to take their annual leave at a time that suits them. 

Now in its fourth year, “Go Home On Time Day” (November 21) is an initiative of The Australia Institute and its aim is to show employers and their staff that life doesn’t need to revolve around work. 

The day was originally conceived as a light-hearted way to start a serious conversation about the impact of poor work/life balance on our health, relationships and workplaces – and needless to say the team here at Mitrefinch are keen supporters!

The negative impact working excessive hours can have on an employee’s mental wellbeing are well documented. Just a couple of months ago, we reported on a UK study that found working 11-hour days on a regular basis can more than double a worker’s risk of depression compared to those who typically work an eight hour day – Read the "Excessive Overtime may be linked to Depression" blog post.

As a provider of Workforce Management Software Systems, we are often asked about the value of having a Time and Attendance Solution when an organisation only has salaried staff on the books. 

In our opinion, if you don't monitor your employees’ working time you can’t manage it! 

By having all staff clock in/out, managers and supervisors can easily identify just how much unpaid overtime their employees are putting in and if there is a particular pattern forming - e.g. staff being forced to work overtime around the end of the month or busy trading periods. 

Armed with this information you may be able to justify hiring additional staff or bringing in contractors at times of increased activity, or at the very least acknowledge the effort being put in by your team - perhaps introducing a Time in Lieu scheme or incentives for those that put in the hard yards? 

In the long run, this ultimately benefits you as a motivated and happy workforce generally means increased productivity! 

There are many more benefits of using an automated time and attendance system, visit our website to find out more or feel free to contact us directly on +61 2 8762 7888 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au 

Also, be sure to relieve work related stress this afternoon and Go Home On Time! 

For more info on “Go Home On Time Day” and to get your workplace involved see: http://www.gohomeontimeday.org.au/

It's Go Home On Time Day!

Each year, Australians work more than 2 billion hours of unpaid overtime, which is the equivalent of $72 billion worth of foregone wages (See: Something for Nothing: Unpaid overtime in Australia).

Do you find yourself working back late? Never enough hours in the day to do all the things you need or want to do? Or with the emergence of Smart Phones and mobile applications are work calls or emails getting in the way of your free time?

Perhaps you are a manager who values your staff, do you want to show them how important they are?

Well, Go Home On Time Day on Wednesday November 30 is a great way to recognise that life doesn’t need to revolve around work - and here at Mitrefinch we are loving the idea!

To find out more or get involved see: http://www.gohomeontimeday.org.au/

As a provider of Time Management Systems, we are often asked about the value of having a Time and Attendance System when an organisation only has salaried staff on the books. 

In our opinion, if you don't measure it you can't manage it! 

By having all staff clock in/out, managers and supervisors can easily identify just how much unpaid overtime their employees are putting in and if there is a particular pattern forming - e.g. staff being forced to work overtime around the end of the month or busy trading periods. 

Armed with this information you may be able to justify hiring additional staff or bringing in contractors at times of increased activity, or at the very least acknowledge the effort being put in by your team - perhaps introducing a Time in Lieu scheme or incentives for those that put in the hard yards? In the long run, this ultimately benefits you as a motivated and happy workforce generally means increased productivity!

What's more, if your employees are having to frequently work extra hours without compensation you could have a potential lawsuit on your hands. (See blog Post: "Aussie Workers are being forced to work extra hours without compensation, how could a Time and Attendance System help you avoid a potential lawsuit")

There are many more benefits of using an automated time and attendance system, visit our website to find out more or feel free to contact us directly on +61 2 8762 7888 or sales@mitrefinch.com.au