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Energy surge prompts move to 4-day work week in US
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Skyrocketing energy costs have fueled fresh interest in the four-day workweek across the United States as a means to help workers as well as employers cope with the surgeIn Birmingham, Alabama, city officials decided to implement a four-day week starting July 1 for some 2,400 municipal employees and later in the year for around 1,000 police and firefighters.
The move, allowing employees to work four 10-hour days, may save 500,000 to one million dollars annually in fuel costs alone for the employees, according to April Odom, director of communications for the mayor's office in the city of 242,000 people.
"Our employees are very excited and ready to start today," Odom told AFP.
"Our biggest motivation was to give our employees a cost savings due to gasoline prices here. But it will also give parents an extra day with their children and save on day care costs."
Some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) north in Maynard, Minnesota, the MACCRAY School District will start a four-day week for the upcoming school year, saving around one percent of its budget, mainly from transportation costs.
"We were going out for transportation quotes and the difference between the four-day and five-day school week was 55,000 dollars," Superintendent Greg Schmidt said.
The shift will mean 149 school days instead of 172, but each day will include an extra 65 minutes for instruction, according to Schmidt.
At the elementary school level, he said "there are some teachers worried about the long days for (younger) kids."
On the other hand, he said, "the majority of high school students like the idea. A lot of these kids work, so it gives them an extra day."
Gasoline costs have surged to around four dollars a gallon in much of the United States, up some 30 percent from a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.
The compressed four-day week is among many options being used by employees and employers in the US, including telecommuting and carpooling, to keep transportation costs down.
A 2007 survey by the Society of Human Resource Management found 38 percent of companies offering a compressed workweek for some employees as part of flexible work benefits.
The US government for years has allowed some employees to work a compressed schedule. Many local governments, from Suffolk County, New York, to El Paso, Texas, are also studying these options.
Meanwhile consulting firm Robert Half International, in a survey released last month, said 44 percent of professionals interviewed said higher gasoline prices have affected their commutes, with many changing their work plans.
The changes include carpooling, using more fuel-efficient cars or telecommuting. Some 26 percent said they were working fewer days of the week to trim commuting costs.
A survey by consultancy Challenger Gray & Christmas found the most popular program, utilized by 23 percent of companies, is a condensed workweek, which typically consists of four 10-hour days.
John Challenger, chief executive of the firm, said the silver lining in high energy costs is that companies and employees are becoming more flexible to adapt to difficult circumstances.
Challenger said employers are now focusing more on performance instead of the number of hours worked, and employees are developing ways to cut costs and become more efficient.
"With our BlackBerrys and our technology we are always working," he said.
With four-day weeks, he said, "not only do people miss the heavy commutes by being at the office earlier and later, but also we're moving to a workplace culture where people want long weekends," he added.
"I don't think we're at the tipping point yet but we are seeing a breaking apart of the traditional work week."
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Skyrocketing energy costs have fueled fresh interest in the four-day workweek across the United States as a means to help workers as well as employers cope with the surgeIn Birmingham, Alabama, city officials decided to implement a four-day week starting July 1 for some 2,400 municipal employees and later in the year for around 1,000 police and firefighters.
The move, allowing employees to work four 10-hour days, may save 500,000 to one million dollars annually in fuel costs alone for the employees, according to April Odom, director of communications for the mayor's office in the city of 242,000 people.
"Our employees are very excited and ready to start today," Odom told AFP.
"Our biggest motivation was to give our employees a cost savings due to gasoline prices here. But it will also give parents an extra day with their children and save on day care costs."
Some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) north in Maynard, Minnesota, the MACCRAY School District will start a four-day week for the upcoming school year, saving around one percent of its budget, mainly from transportation costs.
"We were going out for transportation quotes and the difference between the four-day and five-day school week was 55,000 dollars," Superintendent Greg Schmidt said.
The shift will mean 149 school days instead of 172, but each day will include an extra 65 minutes for instruction, according to Schmidt.
At the elementary school level, he said "there are some teachers worried about the long days for (younger) kids."
On the other hand, he said, "the majority of high school students like the idea. A lot of these kids work, so it gives them an extra day."
Gasoline costs have surged to around four dollars a gallon in much of the United States, up some 30 percent from a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.
The compressed four-day week is among many options being used by employees and employers in the US, including telecommuting and carpooling, to keep transportation costs down.
A 2007 survey by the Society of Human Resource Management found 38 percent of companies offering a compressed workweek for some employees as part of flexible work benefits.
The US government for years has allowed some employees to work a compressed schedule. Many local governments, from Suffolk County, New York, to El Paso, Texas, are also studying these options.
Meanwhile consulting firm Robert Half International, in a survey released last month, said 44 percent of professionals interviewed said higher gasoline prices have affected their commutes, with many changing their work plans.
The changes include carpooling, using more fuel-efficient cars or telecommuting. Some 26 percent said they were working fewer days of the week to trim commuting costs.
A survey by consultancy Challenger Gray & Christmas found the most popular program, utilized by 23 percent of companies, is a condensed workweek, which typically consists of four 10-hour days.
John Challenger, chief executive of the firm, said the silver lining in high energy costs is that companies and employees are becoming more flexible to adapt to difficult circumstances.
Challenger said employers are now focusing more on performance instead of the number of hours worked, and employees are developing ways to cut costs and become more efficient.
"With our BlackBerrys and our technology we are always working," he said.
With four-day weeks, he said, "not only do people miss the heavy commutes by being at the office earlier and later, but also we're moving to a workplace culture where people want long weekends," he added.
"I don't think we're at the tipping point yet but we are seeing a breaking apart of the traditional work week."
