Supervisor: “This week, I need you to put in some overtime, which will require you to work 15% longer than your normal 40 hour per work schedule.” Employee: “Then I should plan on working a total of __________ hours this week.”.
The correct answer and explanation is:
Answer: 46 hours
Explanation:
To determine how many hours the employee will work after adding 15% overtime to the standard 40-hour workweek, you can calculate as follows:
- Understand the problem:
The employee normally works 40 hours per week. The supervisor is asking them to work 15% longer. This means the total hours for the week will be 40 hours plus 15% of 40 hours. - Calculate 15% of 40 hours:
Percentages represent parts of 100. To find 15% of 40, you multiply: 40×0.15=640 \times 0.15 = 6 So, 15% of 40 hours is 6 hours. - Add the extra hours to the standard workweek:
After adding the 6 hours of overtime to the 40 regular hours: 40+6=4640 + 6 = 46 Therefore, the employee will work a total of 46 hours that week. - Breakdown of the calculation:
This is a simple percentage problem. Understanding percentages helps determine how much extra time is being added. For this situation, the calculation is direct because the original workweek (40 hours) is a whole number, and the percentage (15%) is straightforward. - Practical implications:
- Working overtime can mean more compensation depending on workplace policies. Many organizations pay extra (e.g., time and a half) for overtime work.
- From a planning perspective, the employee should ensure they allocate the additional time to avoid conflicts with personal obligations.
By breaking the problem into smaller steps, the employee can confidently plan for a total of 46 hours that week. This skill of calculating percentages is also applicable in daily life for tasks like budgeting, discounts, and more.