18  Overtime and labourcosts

It would be appropriate at this point to highlight a problem that stems directly from management's strategy towards the external labour market. When adjusting labour supply, of all the options open to management, perhaps the easiest to arrange is overtime – a couple of telephone calls and it is done. It is this very ease which makes overtime such a potentially dangerous commodity and one which management must keep control over. There are three basic dangers, especially when labour turnover is high. First, it can run out of control, second, it can undermine recruitment and third, it can undermine supervision and therefore the quality of the service.

The behavioural implications ofovertime

The cause of this potentially ...

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