Assessing the effect of working hours on productivity

Abstract

The construction sector in Uganda has been an industry that has been known for being mismanaged and experiences delays and low productivity due to lack of prior knowledge about how the sector can be managed. This research has therefore sought to analyse one of the factors being managed which is time (working hours). Overall, the growing diversification in the management of working hours raises questions about its impact on productivity, as well as the need for an awareness of this dimension when considering employers’ and workers’ preferences regarding working hours. At the same time, this trend is also promising in the sense that it might offer “win-win” solutions that could potentially benefit both workers and employers. It is hoped that this study will provide useful guidance regarding how to respond to new trends and developments in the area of working time and develop innovative, mutually beneficial working-time arrangements. This study has used quantitative approach to receiving information from the people on a sample size of 96 plastering workers on 5 different sites. Cluster and simple random sampling were used in sampling. The study has found that working hours have an impact on the productivity of plastering workers. It has also explained how the working hours vary within the 8-hour period, overtime period and has described some of the ways to manage them to increase productivity. The findings are intended to notify the clients, engineers and other construction personnel about the effect of working hours and how they can be managed to achieve the best productivity.