Are We Heading Towards a Four Day Work Week?
Lisa | Jul 07, 2008 | Comments 11
I’ve been working four ten hour days on and off for over ten years now. As a biotechnical product support specialist living in the Boston area, I work for a team that supplies customer phone support for North America. Working the four long days helps my manager more easily schedule west coast phone coverage until the end of the California work day.
My company is still open the fifth day.
Recently, as a cost savings measure, many states and private businesses are looking into the impact of implementing a four day work week where they would be closed that fifth day.
Next month, 17,000 of Utah’s 24,000 government employees will make the switch. They’ll work four ten hour days, with Friday off.
This change will save the state of Utah thousands of dollars in energy costs, and reduce commuting costs for its employees by 20%.
Other smaller locales have already made the shift. Marion County in Florida, expects to save $250,000 in energy costs this year alone. And a number of cities in Arizona, California, and Nevada are test-driving the idea.
The energy benefits for America in switching to four days are huge.
- 10-40 percent reduction in nationwide energy use.
- Less dependence on foreign oil.
- a smaller environmental footprint.
What are all the Pros and Cons?
Pros:
From a personal standpoint-
- while time can get a little tight for me on those four days, having the extra day off during the week more than compensates for it.
- it saves me money in commuting expenses, eating lunch out, and all the little expenses that I incur from going to work.
- I have a week day off to get errands done, freeing up the weekend for more pleasant pursuits.
- Grocery stores and beaches are much less crowded on Fridays than they are on weekends.
- I reduce my environmental footprint.
Company benefits-
- they get phone coverage for their west coast customers.
- where possible, I schedule my doctor’s appointments, and other week day personal business, on my day off.
- reduced environmental footprint if they can close completely the fifth day (my company currently can not.)
Cons-
Personal-
- the long days can be wearing.
- if you have children, day care could be more difficult to arrange.
- pets could suffer from being left alone for longer periods of time.
Company-
- not available to customers.
- since all business may not implement the program, it could put them at a disadvantage by not being available that fifth day.
Do you work a four day work week now?
Would you like to?
How do you feel about the entire industrial world shifting to four days?
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Filed Under: Frugal Living • Sustaining Our Planet
Linda
The Passive Dad
J. Money
Matt
Mr. GoTo
My employer just recently shot down a plan to go to 4/10 or a 9/80 schedule. I was looking forward to it, personally, but I can appreciate those with kids in daycare, etc, could have scheduling issues.
Frugal Dads last blog post..Becoming Debt Free: Identifying the Why
I like the idea, but in my situation it doesn’t matter, if fact I would rather work 4 8-hour days. That’s my goal.
By the way, excellent job getting highlighted in the MSN’s Money Blogs.
Curts last blog post..Trick Yourself into Saving Money
Our company is in the process of implementing four 10hr days for employees. We are still working out & researching the details, which is how I found this article. We will not close our office the fifth day but rather allow a partial workforce on certain days.
I would love this… There is additional time saved each morning getting ready and also driving on the fifth day is completely time saved.
A 3 day weekend every week? Sign me up!
Blogging Down Debts last blog post..Want extra money to save? Increase your means!
@ Frugal Dad - Wow, that’s too bad. I agree, the greatest adjustment is for people with children.
@ Curt - I want your job!
@RAK - that’s what my company does. They also allow a lot of work at home days and telecommuting.
@Blogging Down Debts - It is pretty great. The one hard thing is sometimes I still have to work some on Fridays to catch up with things from the week. But it’s totally worth it!
Thanks for all your thoughts, guys! Lisa
My God I would love to work those hours. I think productivity would grow exponentially but so many people are stuck in the the 20th century it’s scary. I’m all for it count me in.
Rick Vaughns last blog post..Will I Be in Debt Forever?
@Rick Vaughn - it’s interesting how management swings back and forth on the 4/10s. Now, in my company, they’re pushing us towards five day work weeks again. I wish they’d make up their minds! - thanks for your thoughts- L
As both an employee and as a manager I have been all for four-day work weeks for many years. As a manager, I believe that staff members are much more productive having had 3 full days off to rest and relax. They come back on Monday eager to get back to work. And, it saves on all of the energy costs, carbon footprint, etc. mentioned above.
And for me, personally, four days on, three days off is a great trade-off. You can schedule those MD appts., boiler/chimney clean-ups and quiet visits to the mall or grocery store on those days. How about a hair appt. that doesn’t have to wait for a late night or a Saturday? And I love the idea of having a long weekend to actually go somewhere and relax.
I may suggest this schedule for the summer.