What is a Business Day?

If you have ever heard the expression "in a week, there are 5 days which are considered business days. Do you know what exactly constitutes a business day? Many people would say the answer is very simple that it is from Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. However, this is not true when you add in the complexity of public holidays, different parts of the world having different time zones, and different cultures having different workweeks. Within the securities industry, any day the financial markets are open for trading is considered to be a business day

Example- A situation where a bank finalizes transactions in "2 working days." A transaction started on a Friday would generally finish by Tuesday, assuming there are no public holidays in between. This example emphasizes the significance of identifying a business day when predicting the times for transaction completions.

What Is the Duration of a Business Day?

A business day usually consists of a regular 8-hour work period. This typically lasts 8 hours, including a one-hour lunch break, resulting in 7 actual working hours. Nonetheless, there are certain exceptions and unique situations where the duration of a business day might differ.

For example, in various sectors, shifts will encompass different times throughout the day and night, like the night shift or longer banking hours. In such scenarios, the duration of the business day can be adjusted to meet those requirements. In the same way, if employees are telecommuting at various hours, an occurrence that is becoming more frequent due to COVID-19 rules, the duration of their work hours may also differ.

When companies function across various local time zones, they might modify their business hours to guarantee that all teams have some overlapping working hours daily.

Ultimately, when it comes to defining the length of a business day, it mostly depends on the preferences of individual employers and employees, taking into account their specific situations.