Does working by the hour make you more productive?

It’s not uncommon in this day and age for people in various industries to work as hourly workers, and marketers log their time by the hour. Many businesses secure the hourly services of skilled workers or freelancers to complete certain tasks within a deadline, and they get paid hourly to do so.

A recent article states that only 40% of the US workforce makes up salaried employees, the rest are all hourly workers. The question is whether salaried employees are more productive than freelancers?

Salaried workers may work harder because they are paid more and generally have more responsibilities, accountability and overall influence. They perhaps take their jobs very seriously and find that they will work longer hours because they are compensated (medical aid and other benefits including bonuses for good work.)

Hourly or freelance employees may look at their work as more task orientated and see their work as having a clear beginning and end. These employees have one task and complete it without distraction and therefore are able to work “in-hours” better than a salaried worker may. The freelancer knows that they are only as good as their last piece of work and have to produce great work so their services are used again, so there is a lot of pressure to impress.

Recent research also shows that an 8 hour work day isn’t necessarily a productive one. “The workday is ripe for another disruption. This is due in part to research that suggests that in an 8-hour day, the average worker is only productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes. That's right - you're probably only productive for around 3 hours a day,” says Inc.  You could find the salaried employee using company time to fulfil personal errands and then you may find that freelancer who pads their timesheets so that they look busier (and earn more).

Ultimately, it depends on the workplace environment, the co-workers, management and of course the employees themselves. Penquin has a very strong team of salaried employees whom are dedicated and are required to be more office-bound. It also has a large bank of freelance workers who assist on a task-by-task basis. These people are well-versed in the industry and fill an important role that doesn’t require them to be office-bound from 8am to 5pm.

In the end, no matter whether one is a salaried employee or an hourly employee, the love of the job means everything.

For more of the very interesting aspects of the salaried vs hourly paid employee, you can read the full article here

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