Utah’s Compressed Workweek Pilot Program Seems to Work 4 Many Reasons
Julie Schwartz Weber August 12th, 2009
As previously discussed here, last August, Utah implemented a four-day workweek pilot program for 17,000 of its state employees, whereby state employees work 10 hour days on Monday through Thursday, and do not work on Fridays. This program, the Work 4 Utah Initiative, was initially launched to reduce energy consumption, extend customer service, improve employee recruitment and retention, and reduce the environmental impact of state government operations. While a comprehensive and final report on the entire year is not expected for several months, the results available today are promising.
- Cost benefits – As of May, the state had already saved 1.8 million dollars in electrical bills. By closing offices on Friday, there is no need to power lights, elevators, computers, air conditioning (in the summer), and no need to provide custodial care on that day.
- Environmental benefits – Utah has projected a reduction of greenhouse emissions by over 12,000 metric tons, due to Friday building shutdowns and fewer cars commuting on Fridays. Additionally, Utah projects that its program will reduce gasoline consumption by 744,000 gallons.
- Employees approve – In fact, 82% of employees surveyed like the program that provides them with a regular 3-day weekend.
- Employee benefits – Surveys show decreased health complaints, less stress and fewer sick days used with this new schedule. Notably, overall, there has been a reduction in employee absenteeism.
- Utah residents benefit – With extended hours for all residents to access government services, other workers, who work 9 to 5, are able to get business done before or after work (e.g., going to the DMV).
When the final report is published, we will update this blog. Until then, let us know if this kind of work schedule would work well for you.
A hiring freeze and budget cuts have made it difficult to tell if Utah’s shorter workweek will attract new job applicants. But many existing employees have found the schedule offers more flexibility.
Although employees typically like this shorter work week, it will be interesting to see how the longer days affect productivity. From what I’ve read, as the day drags on, productivity goes down dramatically in those last two hours…
I have yet to see any solid evidence of these findings. If you ask an employee if they like having Friday off, of course they will say yes! But how does it affect the rest of the work week. 10 hour days are too long, and there is a reason there has been a 5-day, 8-hour a day work week for so long.
For me and a large percent of my co-workers, productivity has declined drastically, both at work and at home, health issues continue to be a problem, and less sick time is being used because a day off sick will cost you a larger chunk of your leave. Not to mention the serious decline in service to customers. For only one example, a Work4 Utah state worker cannot conduct business with any other state agency on their off time, because that agency is closed on Friday. Service to those outside the state of Utah (and yes, there are many) is seriously interupted because of the Friday closures. And the biggest bite of all, no one asked the employees before hand if they wanted to make this change. Many of my co-workers and I would go back to an 8 hour day, 5 day a week schedule in a second.