I don't understand this sentence ROP

Question

"The company bases its working week on twenty-five working hours within a forty hour week."

What does that mean? Can anybody offer to explain it?

I guess it means that the workers have to work for 25 hours within every week which normally contains 40 working hours as the government or some labors' association regulates.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

It doesn't say anything about regulated hours. All it says is that you must work 25 hours within the standard 40-hour week, I think.  What kind of company is it?

Chivalry · Answer

Mister MicawberIt doesn't say anything about regulated hours. All it says is that you must work 25 hours within the standard 40-hour week, I think. What kind of company is it?

Why that question? It's harsh to the employers?

Mister Micawber · Answer

No, not at all.  Knowing some details might help us untangle the meaning of your sentence.

Chivalry · Answer

Mister MicawberNo, not at all. Knowing some details might help us untangle the meaning of your sentence.

I think that's pretty much clear in the context. And just of curiousity, is that "untangle" there even the best word for the expression?? I've only heard of "untangle a complex situation/problem" or "untangle the flat knot", b/c the word untangle means to solve a complicated situation or problem or to seperate things that are twisted around each other. So seriously "untanling a MEANING" sounds a bit confusing to me, anybody find it confusing though?

Mister Micawber · Answer

No, it's not clear from the context. Did you come here for advice or did you not?  Then help us out a bit. Yes, 'untangle' is an apt choice.  I have years of practice at choosing my words.

Chivalry · Answer

Mister MicawberNo, it's not clear from the context. Did you come here for advice or did you not? Then help us out a bit. Yes, 'untangle' is an apt choice. I have years of practice at choosing my words.

I never intend to antagonize anybody here and I asked that question out of curiosity and I was seeking for maybe a better word. And after all, what do you mean by DID YOU COME HERE FOR ADVIDE OR DID YOU NOT? Seriously!

AlpheccaStars · Answer

chivalry"The company bases its working week on twenty-five working hours within a forty hour week."
What does that mean? Can anybody offer to explain it?

Mr. M has tried his best to politely tell you that to explain the sentence, we (native English speakers) need some more information. Otherwise, we can only infer and guess based on our experience.

My guess is that the context relates to the distinction between full-time and part-time employment.

In the company I used to work for, there were full-time and part-time employees. The full-time employees received the same hourly rate of pay as the part-time employees for the same job, and they got non-pay benefits like subsidized health insurance, vacation and sick leave. Part-time employees only received pay for the hours worked and no benefits.

The normal work week for full-time employees was 4 10-hour days, or 5 8-hour days, or 40 hours. But if someone worked regularly 30 hours a week, they were still considered full-time employees. If they worked a regular schedule of 25 hours or less, they could not be full-time employees.

This is only my guess. To interpret it or extricate its actual meaning, more information is necessary.

Chivalry · Answer

AlpheccaStars
chivalry"The company bases its working week on twenty-five working hours within a forty hour week."What does that mean? Can anybody offer to explain it?
Mr. M has tried his best to politely tell you that to explain the sentence, we (native English speakers) need some more information. Otherwise, we can only infer and guess based on our experience. My guess is that the context relates to the distinction between full-time and part-time employment. In the company I used to work for, there were full-time and part-time employees. The full-time employees received the same hourly rate of pay as the part-time employees for the same job, and they got non-pay benefits like subsidized health insurance, vacation and sick leave. Part-time employees only received pay for the hours worked and no benefits. The normal work week for full-time employees was 4 10-hour days, or 5 8-hour days, or 40 hours. But if someone worked regularly 30 hours a week, they were still considered full-time employees. If they worked a regular schedule of 25 hours or less, they could not be full-time employees. This is only my guess. To interpret it or extricate its actual meaning, more information is necessary.

YES! AND I HAVE REPLIED IN THE MOST POLITE WAY POSSIBLE WHEN HE ACCUSED ME OF COMING HERE TO MESS AROUND OR SOMETHING! I only tried to ask him if there's better word for expressing the same meaning, and he got all pissy on me! Is that right, though? Or maybe should I never ask a question about a word here?SCARED

ALL I asked is if there's better alternation rather than that word!

CalifJim · Answer

Oh, for heaven's sake. Calm down. People are just asking for any additional information you might have that could help our understanding about the meaning of the original statement about hours, and they don't need you challenging their word choices in asking for that information. If you have a question about the use of the verb "untangle", start another post about it. In the meantime, it's probably best to focus on the question about the hours in this thread.

CJ

I don't understand this sentence ROP

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