The Road Less Traveled

Utah Institutes Four-Day Work Week

Big news in Utah the other day. Not that I’m really big on following Utah news, but their governor issued an order last week that state employees will make the transition soon to a four-day work week. The experimental measure, which was primarily a response to rising gas prices, will last one year and affect about 17,000 state employees in Utah. These employees will work 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, enjoying a regular 3-day weekend. A few areas of state employment will not make the change, namely the courts, prisons, and public universities. Oh, and apparently the state-run liquor stores (Who knew, right?) will remain open on Fridays.

Obviously there are mixed reactions to the decision. On the plus side, cutting back to a four-day work week will save an estimated three million dollars simply by closing down government buildings on Fridays, in addition to a yet-to-be estimated, but clearly substantial, savings on gasoline for commuters and on the use of vehicles owned and operated by the state. In addition to saving the state loads of money, the measure may also do wonders for the environment, reducing CO2 emissions and air pollution. And finally, while state employees will be working the same number of hours, they will have more flexibility during the weekend to take trips and share time with family.

One of the major obstacles for state employees in Utah, however, also has much to do with family time. Working ten-hour days, instead of the usual eight, puts a heavier burden on parents who will need to make arrangements for childcare and other obligations. And for families in general, whether children are in the picture or not, trying to enjoy quality time together during the evenings after a stressful ten hours at work may pose a problem. Finally, closing down (not all, but many) government offices on Fridays creates obvious boundaries to accessibility for citizens who need to use a government service.

If the transition is mediated appropriately, with respect to the needs and interests of the public, and with attention to the long-term implications of such a shift, I think the four-day work week in Utah could be very successful. And given the potential to cut back dramatically on energy use, the pros seem to outweigh the cons.

Personal Significance

The news in Utah hits close to home – not geographically, of course, but because I have a four-day (forty-hour) work week. In my case, I am fortunate enough to work for an employer who, despite a tradition of employees working fifty hours each week, has agreed to allow me to cut back to accommodate my graduate studies. My courses are online, which obviously makes it easier to fit them into my schedule. But the more intensive elements of my academic work, particularly researching and writing papers, are nearly impossible to delve into, at least to a significant degree, during the evening hours. So it’s nice to have a three-day weekend to fully engage in “homework mode.”

In addition to accommodating my graduate studies, working a four-day work week has allowed me to attend conferences and other academic, professional, and social events that I might otherwise miss due to conflicts with work hours or time required for travel. Keep in mind, of course, these opportunities involve a great deal of hard work – conferences, especially, assuming the event and its participants are worth their salt, can be especially exhausting. So, the mental, physical, and in many cases, emotional prep time that often is neglected is, in my opinion, invaluable.

Implications of a Shorter Work Week

There should be no secret that instituting a shorter work week is a significant way to reduce our dependence on oil. Millions of Americans drive to work every weekday morning, many of them alone in a car, and of course, due in great part to urban sprawl, across long distances. Taking one day off the work week theoretically cuts that energy use back by 20%, with the same being true for related greenhouse gas emissions. Makes sense, right?

Along with a shorter work week, it is reasonable to suggest that staggering the work week – ideally, 1/5 of the population taking Monday off, 1/5 taking Tuesday off, 1/5 taking Wednesday, off, etc. – could help with traffic congestion, reducing the need for new road construction, maintenance of existing roads, and naturally, the unnecessary stress of rush hour traffic (and related car accidents). Also, since people are using their cars less for commuting (and assuming they do not compensate, or worse, over-compensate, by doing extra driving over the weekend) we could expect fewer expenses for buying or maintaining motor vehicles.

I’m relatively fresh out of college (by this, I mean, a traditional, brick-and-mortar, small, four-year private university with a predominantly white, middle-class, and traditional college-age student population – I need to get better about referring to “college” as a universal experience). So I feel as if I am still in an adjustment period. I don’t buy into the “real world vs. college world” dichotomy. But clearly there is a difference in the routines, procedures, and expectations of college life and “post-college” life. Most notable, at least in my experience, next to a shift from values of learning, community, diversity, and compassion to something along the lines of production, competition, isolation, and alienation, has been a restriction in accessibility to basic public services.

When I was in college, if I needed to visit a dentist, pay a bill, organize an event, deliver something, gather information about the local community, call an elected official, or set up a protest, there was virtually no shortage of time to do so. No, my life was not free of responsibilities, as is an unfortunate and misguided stereotype of college students. I was a full-time student, worked several paid and volunteer jobs that ultimately amounted to a forty-hour work week (at least), and participated in a whole range of college and community activities. It was not by any stroke of luck that I was able to live this lifestyle – I was free to manage my own schedule. Now, obviously different employers have different expectations and policies in place regarding the scheduling of work – i.e. some treat employees like people, others treat employees like cogs in the wheel. Suffice it to say, without turning this into a rant, that our institutionalized expectations regarding work in industrial capitalism do not, at least to the extent that they could, reflect the needs and interests of human beings as citizens, caregivers, volunteers, change agents, and people with, you know, basic needs. The four-day work week, while still reinforcing the notion that everyone ought to commit at least 1/3 of our “awake time” in life in the workplace, takes an important step toward resolving this disconnect.