Comments on: Shortweek

By: Robert

Robert — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:48:07 +0000

@Jeanie: Yes, it is very hard to convince employers of change when all they have known is how things used to be. Companies and employers who are forward thinking are the ones who are ultimately successful in our ever changing market. Just a small overview of the monster Google has become is a testament to how employee satisfaction can create unparalleled success and product quality.

@Ann: It is nice to hear from people actually working these “new” hours in their real lives. As I would have guessed, the extra day off is well worth any potential cost associated to personal time during the 4 work days. However, just as you stated, we adjust. Even with the extra 2 hours of work, you have adjusted your schedule to accommodate for the additional hours and still get everything you normally want done, done.

Employers need to know that this does not have to be a “pull the tape off” procedure. Experiment with different departments and focus on the results of your trial. If things are going well, begin the next phase of your 4 day week schedule. Yes, not all companies will be able to migrate to this change, but most will never know because they will fail to try in the first place.

By: Ann

Ann — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:40:32 +0000

When I finally got my hours the same as Robert’s, we felt we were really blessed!!!! Tuesday thru Friday – 10 hour work days – 6:30 to 5:00 is the most perfect hours. We still have time to rest and I still have time to clean house (if I ever get the notion)do the laundry, etc. I thank God everyday for this blessing!!! Now that I got it, I don’t think I could ever give it up. It sure would be very hard. I do not notice the 10 hour days, I still am going strong at the end of the day, trying to get every thing I can do to be more caught up the next morning. I never run out of something to do on my job!! The stores are always calling for some reason or other.

By: Jeanie

Jeanie — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:50:16 +0000

Personally I would LOVE to have a 4 day work week. I’ve always wanted it!!!!
It’s so hard to convey to business owners how this could benefit them as well.

The last time I checked, you get a lot better quality of work out of a happy and rested employee!

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:23:55 +0000

The monetary savings by driving less over the course of a year is huge in its own right. Sure, people will still drive on their extra day, but I believe the number of miles driven would be less than if everyone were driving to work as a whole. I’m curious to see how the changes Utah is making pan out. I can imagine that we will see a few articles down the road reporting how things are working out. So, let’s keep an eye out on how their migration is doing.

I’m glad that you guys can experience the 4 day work week because I do believe it helps so much. As you stated, it’s a 3 day weekend every single week of the year. We cannot rely on the way things used to be done to move forward. Society and work standards must change to allow for people to live again. Our country is behind the changes in employee life standards compared to the rest of the developed world because we fall back on the old standbys of how things used to be accomplished. An efficient employee is a happy one. A stressed and unhappy employee is an inefficient, accident prone employee costing the business money.

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:43:54 +0000

We really like our 4 day workweek schedule. I started on the the 4 day shift first and it worked out good for me,however Ann was still working a 5 day schedule so we still had to drive 2 cars or she would have to wait around on me to get off work. After some talking to her boss, he eventually changed her hours to match mine. This has worked out great for us. Now we can schedule most of our appointments to fall on our day off. I think just about everyone gets excited when a holiday falls on a Friday or Monday. A 3 day weekend, right?

We now have this holiday weekend every week,except all of the businesses are not closed. We save money on gas by driving only one vehicle, 20% less mileage on your vehicle. With the price of gas, this really helps out. It did take some time getting used to working the longer hours, but overall it works out very well.

I realize that not all jobs could be changed to a 4 day work week, but if all companies would take a close look at this and change their hours accordingly. Can you imagine the savings on fuel alone. “WOW” we may even force down the price of fuel. Less demand, more supply. Not dependent on foreign oil. That would probably make a lot of people happy, but our oil Barrons and the Shieks of the burning sands would not like it. Ha Ha, but who cares? Not me and you. Right?