Duration and optimal number of shifts in the labour market

U. Spiegel, L.D. Gonen and M. Weber

Applied Economics Letters, 2014, vol. 21, issue 6, 429-432

Abstract: Significant conflicts impacting production costs and efficient use of labour are associated with shift work. We examine the relationship between the number of shifts and their duration in order to maximize efficient use of labour. We focus on the debate between two basic elements: (1) a greater number of shifts of shorter duration which require more idle time between shifts, and may lead to increased expenses and inefficient use of resources; and (2) shifts of shorter duration that generate higher productivity. We develop a formula for achieving a balance between the two elements and determining the optimal number of shifts and their duration. We present several applications that can be derived from our formula.

Date: 2014
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13504851.2013.864027 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:21:y:2014:i:6:p:429-432

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/RAEL20

DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2013.864027

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Economics Letters is currently edited by Anita Phillips

More articles in Applied Economics Letters from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().