Utah State Employees Getting a Four Day Work-Week |
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The state of Utah recently decided that it could save money by letting it’s employees work four day work weeks. Employees will work 10 hours a day and receive the same pay as usual. My mother, a nurse, actually had this set-up for a long time. She quite enjoys it and finds that she can get errands done on her off day that were otherwise difficult or impossible. Many banks just aren’t open past the 9-5 hours that many people work.
So how much money will it save? Reduced energy costs of state buildings will save the state 3 million dollars of it’s 11 billion dollar budget. For those keeping track at home we are talking about 0.027% of the budget. The state government also looks to save money on state vehicles, but can’t quantify the savings.
It’s a little curious that such a small percentage of savings would trigger such a big change. Perhaps the thought is that the state employees will go out and support businesses on their new day off. The aforementioned article did mention that golf courses are looking forward to having people come in on the three day weekend.
I think there are a lot of reasons for a four day work-week, I’m just not entirely convinced that saving money as Utah says it will is one of them. I like to think that they could come up with ways to save a lot more money.
This post deals with:energy costs, four day work week, saving money, state employees, state of utah
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July 7th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Sign me up! I’m not sure about the money it will save, but it will create happier employees, and happy employees are better employees.
I think our country could benefit a good deal from moving towards this type of work week. Most Americans simply work non-stop during the week, and then only have two precious days to try and squeeze everything else that needs to be done. It often doesn’t all get accomplished, which just leads to more stress.
People need to reclaim their lives. There is more to life than work, and I think if you gave people a chance to get an extra day for themselves, you’d see happier and healthier people who are more productive when at work.
July 7th, 2008 at 8:06 am
While it may be a small percentage of their overall budget, it’s refreshing to see a government entity taking initiative to cut costs and operate more efficiently.
July 7th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I do something similar; I work 9 hours a day and get every other Friday off. It can be great for getting ordinary errands done, but annoyingly, more and more businesses seem to be closed on Fridays. (Hello, DOCTORS, what are you thinking?!)
July 7th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Maybe the doctors are doing the same thing, working 4-10 hour days ;-).
July 7th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I’m with Jeremy - sign me up too! Not that i’m unhappy at all at my job, but knowing i’d have that extra day off sure would motivate me even more
July 7th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
“Also, state-run liquor stores will stay open on Fridays.” Glad to know they’ll keep the drunks going on Friday.