productivity

[Doug Henwood]

Ted Byfield mentioned longer hours as the secret of the productivity 
miracle. Technically, the productivity measure is output per hour 
worked, so longer hours shouldn't affect the calculation. But the 
hours worked figures are based on what employers report to BLS 
surveyors. An item from Business Week quoted by Sam Smith in today's 
Progressive Review suggests that hours may be seriously underreported:


>Throughout the economy, the speedup is well under way. The 40-hour 
>week has all but disappeared: Americans now log 260 more hours a 
>year than they did a decade ago. Pharmacists and government workers 
>have already won suits awarding them extra pay for overtime work. 
>Flight attendants at Continental Airlines are mulling a class action 
>over a requirement that they show up at the airport 45 minutes prior 
>to the flight's departure. Their gripe: They don't start getting 
>paid until the door to the aircraft has slammed shut."

Doug