Suppose you start at $32,000 per year (about $16/hr.), receive $3,536 in company paid insurance benefits, receive 32% of your base in 401K/Profit Sharing/ESOP benefits, and cost the company 8% of your base in FICA taxes. Suppose also that you are trained for 4 months, plus get 7 holidays and 10 days total of sick leave and vacation your first year. Assuming 176 work hours per month and 8 hours per day; in your first year, what is your cost to the company per hour that YOU ARE AVAILABLE TO HELP A CUSTOMER?
Total cost is (32000 * (1 + (.32 + .08))) + 3536
= (32000 * 1.4) + 3536 = $48,336
Total hours available = 12 mo - 4 mo - 17 days = 8 mo - 17 days
= (8 mo * 176 hrs/mo) - (17 days * 8 hrs/day)
= 1408 hrs - 136 hrs = 1272 hrs.
Cost per hour = $48,336 / 1272 = $38.00
The real-life answer is actually much higher because this problem did not include lost time, supervision, office space, computers, telephones, insurances, free fruits and drinks, etc.