Forcing employees to work overtime can cause substandard work and considerable strain on individuals outside of the workplace. Yet many employers continue to demand longer-than-standard hours from workers, according to a recent study published by the Economic Policy Institute. Although school transportation was not specifically cited, the study reports that several industries, including transportation, have at least a quarter of the workforce working involuntary overtime hours. It also estimates that stress- and fatigue-related problems brought on by excessive overtime hours cost from $150 to $300 billion annually. Says Lonnie Golden, associate professor of economics at Penn State University, “Workers who put in the kind of long hours that go along with overtime often get less sleep, which can lead to an increase in workplace accidents and injuries,” he says. Evaluate your operation to ensure that you aren’t requiring an oppressive number of hours from your workers. In this industry, substandard performance related to overworked employees can have disastrous consequences.