Productivity Push Means End to Carefree Weekends: Chris Melillo of Kaye/Bassman International Quoted in The Fiscal Times Article

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Productivity Push Means End to Carefree Weekends:  Chris Melillo of Kaye/Bassman International Quoted in The Fiscal Times Article

Dallas, Texas, 8/11/2011: Productivity Push Meand End to Carefree Weekends

Once reserved for family time, day trips and relaxation, the American weekend has become the latest casualty of the Great Recession. For many Americans, more of the work week is spilling over onto Saturday and Sunday as companies tighten payrolls and ask employees to put in more hours rather than hire more workers. Over a third of Americans currently work on the weekend and on average, people worked 30 minutes longer on weekends in 2010 than in 2009, from 5 to 5.5 hours, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s American Time Use Survey released last month.

Overtime and after-hours work are also on the rise. Agency statistics also show that average overtime hours in the manufacturing sector rose to 4.2 a week in April, up from 2.8 in January 2009. A third of U.S. households now have a home office, and of those, 61 percent are for after-hours work, according to Investor’s Business Daily. Today’s tough job market allows employers to demand more from their workers. In turn, longer hours may be taking a toll on employees, their families, and even their work performance.

If workers are unhappy, they have reason—longer hours may put their well-being at risk. A 2004 review of studies by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, page iv addressed general health effects of extended working hours. The reviewers concluded that in 16 of 22 studies, overtime was associated with poorer perceived general health, increased injury rates, more illnesses, and increased mortality.

Yet Christopher Melillo, managing partner with executive search firm Kaye/Bassman International, sees a positive side to companies asking more of their employees. “We’ve seen a renewed passion for job ownership,” he says. “I think we became somewhat complacent . . . The market as a whole has recognized that we have got to do a better job. And that means one thing—it means working harder.”

Read the full story.

About Kaye/Bassman
Founded in 1981, Kaye/Bassman has grown to become the largest single-site executive search and recruitment firm in the United States with the simple mission of impacting companies and enhancing careers by providing the finest in professional, executive, technical and scientific search. Kaye/Bassman provides strategic recruiting and executive search solutions in over 20 industry practice areas including construction recruiting, healthcare recruiting, banking executive search, energy recruitment and many more.  Next Level Recruiting Training, a recruiting training organization, Next Level Exchange, a recruiting training best practices information exchange, and Next Level Marketing Communications are also Kaye/Bassman companies.

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Source:  http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/07/30/Productivity-Push-Means-End-to-Carefree-Weekends.aspx#page1