Hours Calculator

The Online Hours Calculator

Work has been around for almost as long as humans have. Unfortunately, compensation has not. In the old days, serfs worked the fields in exchange for food and lodging. Nowadays, we get paid – many by the hour. That's why it's so important to have a way to count hours to ensure accurate payment quickly.

That's where this Hours Calculator comes in. Essentially, this is a digital form of a time-card calculator. It allows an employee or employer to enter a start and end time and then calculate precisely how many hours were accrued. But that's not all. If you look closely, you'll notice that this particular time calculator has some added benefits that both sides of the pay spectrum will love.

How it Works: Rules for Using this Calculator

Using this device as a time clock calculator couldn't be easier (or more accurate). For starters, there are two basic function buttons at the top. One is a twelve-hour clock (standard time), and the other is a 24-hour clock (military time). This is important not just for military personnel but for the many countries worldwide that prefer to tell time using 24-hour intervals.

After selecting this function, the watch calculator will change its settings according to user specifications. To get a calculation, users need to input the work Start Time and work End Time. If they're using the 12-hour version, they can choose between AM and PM to ensure proper results.

One of the best things about this particular time card calculator is that it has a form field where you can deduct breaks, which are typically not paid.

Example

Let's say an employee clocks in at 8:12 AM and clocks out at 3:33 PM. However, during their time at work, they took two 15-minute breaks. You would enter the information above and then put "30 minutes" in the "Deduct Breaks" section. If you hit "calculate," this would produce the correct hours: 6:51. Without deducting the breaks, you would get 7:21 and need to subtract the breaks manually.

The best part of using this time clock calculator is that it provides a total time, a time in decimal form, and the total number of minutes. In the case of the above example, those would be 6:51, 6.85, and 411 minutes, respectively. Since many employers calculate hours differently, this versatility can help them avoid extra steps.

Problems This Calculator is Designed to Solve

It can be difficult for employers to calculate the hours their employees work. This tool ensures they can do so in multiple formats, allowing them to determine the correct payment quickly.

Employees can also use this tool to track how much money they can expect to earn on a given workday. It's no secret that people live on very tight budgets. However, this calculator allows a person to track how much they'll make on their next paycheck.

But this is just a sampling of the problems this calculator can solve. For instance, some payroll systems use a standard time format to calculate hours, while others use the decimal system. With this calculator, users can see results in both forms without having to do a conversion.

Some countries and organizations use "military time" instead of dividing the day into two separate 12-hour halves. This digital calculator has both a 12-hour and a 24-hour clock function.

Though rare, a user might want to know the total number of minutes worked. This information is automatically displayed alongside the decimal and total time results. Many other digital hour calculators are very sensitive to format. However, when using this calculator, you can enter 1225 or 134, and it will know to insert the colon. This ensures the computer reads the entered information as 12:25 and 1:34.

NOTE: If the "24-hour clock" is selected, it will read the results as 12:25 PM, and 01:34 AM the following day. To get 1:34 PM, you would need to enter 1334.

As you can see, this is a very helpful time clock calculator that virtually any organization that pays workers can take advantage of. Though simple in its purpose, it has loads of practical features to make it more valuable and accurate.

The History of the Eight-Hour Workday

In many parts of the world, the national standard for full-time employment is 40 hours a week. The average employee spends at least 35 hours a week at work. This is usually five days of eight hours a day. Working less than 35 hours a week is considered part-time.

The eight-hour workday originated in 16th-century Spain. Spain was the first country to legislate an eight-hour workday for factory and fortification workers in 1593.

The modern movement for the 8-hour workday dates back to the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories changed working life. At that time, the workday could range from 10 to 16 hours, the workweek was usually six days, and the use of child labor was commonplace.

The eight-hour workday rule was formulated by the English entrepreneur Robert Owen in 1817 in the form of a slogan: "Eight hours is labor. Eight hours is rest. Eight hours is sleep."

The 8-hour workday was first legally recognized in Australia in 1848 and in some U.S. states. In 1868, in the U.S., an 8-hour workday was established by law for employees and workers in state-owned enterprises.

A mass labor movement for an eight-hour workday started in the United States on May 1, 1886. Chicago's workers staged a mass strike demanding an eight-hour workday.

Working conditions at the time were difficult. Workers were paid low wages, the workday was 12–15 hours, employers used child labor, and workers had no social guarantees. 350 000 American workers across the country participated in the strike.

After World War I, the democratization of public life began in many countries, and the workers' rights movement began to grow. In connection with this, the 8-hour workday began to be introduced more and more widely in Germany, France, and Great Britain. The second "wave" of legalization of the 8-hour workday came in the 1930s and 1940s. At that time, the 8-hour workday began to be implemented in Asian and Latin American countries.

As of 2013, the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, which defines the 8-hour workday, has been adopted in 52 countries.

Some people who are paid by the hour are trying to work their maximum hours. But some workers prefer flexible hours. They can perform their duties in a shorter time and devote the remaining time to rest.

The Types of Work Schedules

A standard work schedule assumes that employees must be available during their company's business hours. For example, 8 to 5, five days a week.

In addition to the standard terms of employment, companies are now introducing alternative work schedules. Among them are options such as:

Short Workweeks

It is a four-day work week with more working hours per day. For example, an employee can work four days a week for 10 hours each working day.

Short Work Days

Employees work fewer hours per week. But they are still required to complete all the tasks set for the day or week. Shorter workdays make people more motivated and focused on their jobs.

Shift Work

Companies that function 24 hours a day use this kind of schedule. Most employees work different hours but overlap for one hour with the next shift. With this schedule, employees must get at least eight hours of rest between shifts.

Overtime

Employees work more than the standard 40 hours per week. The extra hours worked are paid at a higher rate.

Assignment-Based Contracts and Freelance Work

In this case, the number of hours worked is up to the employee as long as they meet the employer's requirements. The employee is paid a fixed price not for hours worked but for the results of the tasks completed.

Employees can work fewer hours or even devote an entire day to work if it suits them. If they are productive and submit their results on time, the company allows them to work as they please. Freelance professionals often use this schedule.

The above work schedules are suitable for both in-office and remote work. They affect employee well-being and productivity differently, but many companies still prefer the standard 40-hour work week.

The Optimal Amount of Time to Work

The eight-hour workday has been the norm for more than a hundred years. But many studies claim that eight hours a day is too much to work.

Studies by the World Health Organization show that working too much leads to premature death. People who work too much are prone to strokes and heart disease. In Japan, there is a name for death from overwork: karoshi. Some people work more than 100 hours a week, undermining their health.

There are emergency cases where a project does require extra time. But if a person stays at work regularly and doesn't give himself time to rest, he begins to suffer from overwork and distress. Among the symptoms of overwork, medics distinguish the following:

• physical exhaustion, headaches, muscle aches, heart and stomach problems;
• problems with memory, sedation, and other types of cognitive deterioration;
• decreased motivation, lack of desire to work, less involvement;
• emotional problems in the form of increased irritability, aggression, or apathy.

Overwork can lead to emotional burnout. Burnout is a state of emotional, mental exhaustion, and physical fatigue resulting from chronic stress at work. More hours at work does not necessarily mean you will be more productive. Studies show that your productivity per hour decreases if you work more than 50 hours per week.

A 2019 survey of British office workers found that people don't just engage in work during the workday. Between work tasks, they check social media, read the news, discuss non-work issues with friends or colleagues, shop online, eat snacks, play games, and watch shows.

Studies like this lead to proposals to reduce the length of the work day. Studies have shown that people's creativity declines after five hours of concentration. Some experts in labor studies say that a 5–6-hour workday might be a better option for employees. Five hours is the maximum when most of us can concentrate well on something. There are times when you can work efficiently for longer. But the average employee can do quality work for about five to six hours.

The results of experiments with shorter hours in different companies have been both positive and negative.

Employees are finding more creative ways to reduce the time for specific work activities. Reducing the workday can lead to better time management and promote concentration.

On the other hand, by doing more work in a shorter amount of time, people are essentially setting themselves up for more stress. Employees try to devote their time solely to work and not be distracted by unrelated conversations. Company culture can suffer in these situations. When you don't have time for chitchat, extraneous discussions, and shared coffee, it affects loyalty, team culture, and people's relationships in the company.

On the other hand, there are also arguments for the 8-hour workday. Many jobs don't require a high level of concentration and creativity. People in such positions can work for 8 hours a day without feeling stressed. In addition, the 8-hour workday allows each 24-hour period to be broken into three equal parts.

The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing quarantines have forced many employers to experiment with working time controls. Working from home allowed employees to adjust their personal lives to work responsibilities. On the other hand, working from home has blurred the lines between work and home. Many employees have begun complaining that they now work at home more than in the office.

That is why the more freedom and flexibility a person has, the more critical it is for them to become masters of their time. It becomes more vital for them to calculate their working hours and keep a balance between rest and independent work.