Working For The Weekend


How often do you multi-task?
All the time, it's the only way I get things done. Sometimes, I try not to but sometimes I can't help it. Never, I just can't do more than one thing at a time.

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Working For The Weekend
By: Tama Swan, Associate Editor
Issue: 2009dec

A distributor and the state of Utah give 10-hour workdays a go for a year.

In a dramatic effort to save money, Utah’s state government challenged the normal idea of a five-day workweek and implemented a 10-hour-a-day, four-day-a-week schedule for 17,000 state employees. The yearlong pilot program in which all employees had Fridays off began in 2008 and wrapped up last August.

Post-program analysis showed that closing state offices on Fridays for a year saved Utah $3 million in utilities and workers $6 million in commuting expenses. The majority of employees were pleased with the change, too. Eighty-two percent said they prefer a four-day week, according to a survey conducted after the trial year by a researcher at Brigham Young University.

Denver, Colorado-based distributor L.W. Barrett Company, Inc. (UPIC: BARRETT) launched its four-day week initiative in October 2008, about the same time Utah did. “Originally there was some reluctance to work 10-hour days due to children’s school schedules,” says Tina Montgomery, MAS, COO of the company. “We allow staff to start as early as 6 am so they can leave the office earlier and be home with the kids after school.”

Montgomery says another employee concern was having enough stamina to work 10 straight hours, however these fears were soon dashed. “Once they get accustomed to the longer days, they find the energy level is there,” Montgomery says.

In fact Montgomery says she’s seen increased productivity and decreased absenteeism since the program began. “[Employees] are happier and more focused on work when in the office,” she says.

Only 50 percent of Montgomery’s staff used the program when it started a year ago. Now, she says, 100 percent participate.

However L.W. Barrett Company hasn’t experienced significant energy savings like Utah. “There is some energy savings since we aren’t using one computer, one day each week,” Montgomery says, “but it isn’t significant.

“Overall, we’ve tried to be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly this year and haven’t noticed any significant savings. Maybe we’re not big enough to see a difference.”

A Look Back

While the majority of Utah state employees polled after the yearlong experimental workweek said they preferred the new schedule, staffers polled before the program showed uncertainty. Utah has not released data on staff turnover that may have occurred due to the program.

71.3% believed a 4/10 workweek had several advantages.
33.6% felt the program would positively benefit customers.
57.7% said the new work schedule was inconvenient.
60.3% thought the negatives associated with the schedule could not be overcome.

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