How much is your time worth?

In an environment where time is money, take a minute to consider how much an hour of your time is actually worth. (On a side note, you may find its worth less and less these days!)

If you are an “hourly” employee, you already have a good idea of how much an hour of your time is worth. Factor in benefits and any bonuses you may earn in a time period and add it to your bottom line per hour wage and you have a good estimate. If you are “salary”, it is a little more difficult to pinpoint.
If you work a 40 hour work week, you’ll likely put in 200 productive days per year. Each day will probably yield 7.5hours of actual work time. That equals 1500 hours in a year. Divide that by the amount you earn per year and you’ll get your figure.

Take a look at the following examples:
$35,000 / 1500 hours = $23.33 per hour on average
$55,000 / 1500 hours = $36.67 per hour on average

Use this reference point to help you determine whether or not you’ll commit to a particular task. If it is a low yield task, it could be delegated to someone else. Take administrative tasks, for example. If you are making $40 per hour and you have the choice between spending the next hour making copies or chasing down new business leads, which do you choose? If you have to pay someone over $40 to make your copies for you, it makes sense to do them yourself. Chances are that you can delegate for much less, and take that time to generate new business that will yield you more than $40 for that hour. This is also a great argument to use when determining if you take on a new project or hire additional help.

Use this formula in your personal life too. I had a boss who figured his time was worth about $55 per hour. At this wage, he could justify working an extra hour or two every day and pay a neighbor kid to mow his lawn at $18 per hour. If you are contemplating a major purchase, use this example to see how many hours you have to work to pay for it. You may just decide it’s best to go without!

Do you have questions for the experts at Team @ Work? Ask us-email kristen@teamatworkcoaching.com