2018 Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 75-83
This article examines an alternate approach to the working time problem, focusing on labor-management joint consultation regarding required personnel. It poses the hypothesis that neither labor and management possesses accurate knowledge needed to measure or verify necessary personnel requirements.Based on this hypothesis, the article advances the following proposal as a practical strategy for reducing working hours. First of all, it is necessary to accurately grasp the workers’ desired working hours and desired free time, and to correctly calculate the number of personnel required for businesses/organizations over the long term. In the process of personnel calculation and staffing, labor and management should make efforts to maintain not only time to spare for WLB but also time to spare for creative activities. Next, they should revise the present structure of discussion between labor and management ; instead of conducted discussions after excess overtime has occurred, new practices should be devised for conducting advance joint consultation before problems over working hours and required staffing occur.
Annals of the Society for the Study of Social Policy
