Running head: Ethics and Hours

Ethics and Hours in Business
Dawn Lunsford
Ashford University
Principles of Management
BUS201
Christopher Eliasen
Jan. 25, 1013

Ethics and Hours There are many possible ethical implications involved when employees are made to work long hours or to travel extensively. Most businesses attempt to guard against these by forewarning their employees that the job requires these things. Another way that businesses can protect themselves is to ask that employees volunteer to fill the required positions. Many businesses must require certain hours or travel because they cannot afford to expand their workforce.
Working long hours may cause employees to miss time with family, to suffer from sleep deprivation or to miss religious obligations. Employees who miss time with their family are likely to be more stressed out, this may cause "burn out" and cause employees to quit their job or possibly have emotional problems. People who are sleep deprived have trouble concentrating and become forgetful as well as having mood swings. This would not make a very good employee, however it would be the fault of the business itself for requiring so many hours. People who are made to miss religious obligations may suffer from low morale and lose interest in doing their job properly.
Employers are of course in business to make money, they need employees to be successful. An employer who is not sympathetic to the personal life of their employees will likely find that they have a high turnover of employees. Training new staff costs any business money, if not directly then through a loss of business. Any employer that is smart will help to make sure that their employees are able to create a comfortable balance of professional and private life. In addition many states have laws that give employees certain rights concerning pay, hours, and other things.
In NC there are assisted living facilities called Family Care Homes. Most employees in these group homes are required to live in the building with the clients. The owner of the home will provide power, water, phone, cable TV, and a certain amount of food as well as a monthly or semimonthly salary. The employee is not allowed to be more than 500ft away from the building at any time unless there is a relief worker on site. Years ago the salary was calculated based on an hourly minimum wage pay scale and 12hr days. That was the typical set up at a Family Care Home in NC, until one employee was looking at the wage and hour poster while at the social security office with a client. She took her employer to court because she was not being paid for her overnight hours. The court found that employees in these situations should compensated for the long hours they work.
If an employer causes their employees to work long hours or travel extensively when they know it will cause any of these problems they would not be considered very ethical. An ethical employer will warn the perspective employee about hours and travel, allow people to decline the extra responsibility when necessary, and will offer appropriate compensation for extra hours or travel.

Bibliography
Schulman, M. (1997, Winter). Time to go Home: Long Hours Put the Squeeze on Workers and Their Families. Retrieved Jan 25, 2013, from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v8n1/timetogohome.html: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v8n1/timetogohome.html