The Utah State government has been experimenting with a 4 day work week by having 17,000 state employees work 4 10 hour days a week. In return, they get fridays off.
In addition to 82% of the employees saying they prefer a 4 day work week, other advantages include:
- lower energy and cleaning bills
- fewer commuters on the roads
- reduced greenhouse gas emissions
- employees reporting feeling healthier and more productive
- a reduction in sick days
For more details and other examples, see Should Thursday be the New Friday in Scientific American.
Another way to boost the advantages of a four-day work week: enabling employees to work from home one day a week, which would reduce their carbon footprint by 25% because they wouldn't have to commute one day out of four. They can still be connected to colleagues, supervisors and customers using videoconferencing solutions. Check out the ROI and Green Calculator from Avistar, http://bit.ly/BIMPd.
Posted by: Norman Birnbach | August 12, 2009 at 12:41 PM