Durées courtes, journées longues

Abstract

Working time diversification has made it harder to measure total working hours while blurring the boundaries between actual and “free” working time. The present text seeks to assess the magnitude and consequences of this confusion within a working day framework by comparing two specific working time measurements : one corresponding to the magnitude of the working day (the time elapsing between the start of the first working period and the end of the final one) ; and a second referring to average daily working hours calculated using weekly totals and the number of days actually worked. The relationship between these two quanta might then be deemed to measure the density of daily working time. Analysis of this indicator reveals that certain professions are affected more than others. The fragmentation of working hours impacts monthly compensation and is sometimes a kind of trickery used to get around paying minimum wage. Hence the questions raised here about the social significance of these workforce management mechanisms and the different ways that working hours are counted.

Keywords

• working hours
• fragmentation
• labour costs