24/7
Encyclopedia
24/7 is an abbreviation
which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption. In the UK it may be known as round-the-clock service, with or without the hyphens.
and industry
it sometimes identifies a service that will be present regardless of current time or day, as might be offered by a supermarket
, convenience store
, ATM, automated online assistant, Filling station
, restaurant
, concierge services
or a manned computer data facility. Today, it is common for call centers to have representatives available 24/7. This is due to, in part, a decrease in long distance call
charges, which allow employees based in one continent and time zone
to provide services to customers in another during its night hours.
In some cases, even a service stated to be available 24/7 may shut down, such as on a major holiday
.
An extended version 24/7/365.25 intends to denote a service that is available year-round, by including the number of days per year.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the Sunday trading laws prevent many stores' opening truly 24/7, though they sometimes advertise as such. Some core services such as filling station
s are exempt from the law requiring them to close. A campaign against changing the law was supported by many bodies including the Church of England
, the Church in Wales
and many secular bodies, called Keep Sunday Special
.
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption. In the UK it may be known as round-the-clock service, with or without the hyphens.
Definition
In commerceCommerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
and industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
it sometimes identifies a service that will be present regardless of current time or day, as might be offered by a supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
, ATM, automated online assistant, Filling station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
, restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
, concierge services
Concierge
A concierge is an employee who either works in shifts within, or lives on the premises of an apartment building or a hotel and serves guests with duties similar to those of a butler. The position can also be maintained by a security officer over the 'graveyard' shift. A similar position, known as...
or a manned computer data facility. Today, it is common for call centers to have representatives available 24/7. This is due to, in part, a decrease in long distance call
Long Distance Call
"Long Distance Call" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:A boy communicates with his father's European-immigrant mother, who had recently died, using a toy telephone that she gave him on his birthday before her passing. The boy, Billy, runs out in...
charges, which allow employees based in one continent and time zone
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
to provide services to customers in another during its night hours.
In some cases, even a service stated to be available 24/7 may shut down, such as on a major holiday
Public holiday
A public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year....
.
An extended version 24/7/365.25 intends to denote a service that is available year-round, by including the number of days per year.
Criticism
There have been some criticisms of misuse of the abbreviation in the internet age, with companies claiming to be available 24/7 when actually only their websites, unattended by any staff, are in operation. When not only services are intended to be available 24/7, but employees are also expected to adapt their working hours with similar flexibility, such 24/7 workplaces can put employees under conditions that limit their personal life choices and development. Calls for a re-humanisation of the 24/7 workplace have therefore been voiced. Some have also remarked on the "collective mania" especially in the United States that takes a sort of pride in the "work at all times" attitude exemplified by the 24/7 concept.In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the Sunday trading laws prevent many stores' opening truly 24/7, though they sometimes advertise as such. Some core services such as filling station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
s are exempt from the law requiring them to close. A campaign against changing the law was supported by many bodies including the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
and many secular bodies, called Keep Sunday Special
Keep Sunday Special
Keep Sunday Special is a British campaign group set up in 1985 by Dr Michael Schluter CBE to oppose plans to introduce Sunday trading in England and Wales...
.