How would you like every Friday off?

July 10, 2008

When I read last week that Utah state employees are switching to a four-day workweek to reduce energy costs, I thought it was only a matter of time before someone in Maryland got on board.

Which is why I wasn’t surprised to read that Howard County Executive Ken Ulman (subject of a story in our Wednesday paper) is proposing a similar plan for county employees.

From the AP story:

[Ulman] believes an alternative work schedule would save fuel, reduce stress for employees and cut pollution.

According to Ulman, the best options are four 10-hour days each week or eight nine-hour days and one eight-hour day in a two-week period.

He also proposed flex time so employees could adjust start and ending work times to avoid traveling during heavy commuting hours.

What I wouldn’t give to be a Hoco employee if this pans out.

Seriously, if the work won’t suffer, this seems like a no-brainer to me. The key is, as Ulman acknowledges, “maintaining services for residents.”

I’ve got no hope of such a switch here; four-day workweeks for the newsroom would leave either Business Friday or Maryland Lawyer readers without an issue. (Not to mention the resulting irony of the name “The Daily Record”).

Could your office make it work? Would you prefer putting in some extra time in exchange for a three-day weekend?

JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor

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Posted by The Daily Record | Filed Under business, energy, government 

Comments

3 Responses to “How would you like every Friday off?”

  1. Fines on July 10th, 2008 9:55 am

    I work the nine hour and one 8 hour day for every other Firday off and it’s nice but rough having to get up at 5am every day to be at work by 7am.

    What I would prefer is to reduce the number of hours in a work week from 40 to 30 (6 hours days instead of 8) . Employees can get just as much done in 6 hours as they could in 8 hours. There is no reason to have to spend 8 hours of your day at your job. This would free-up more time for family life and life in general.

  2. Anonymous on July 10th, 2008 12:26 pm

    I work in a pretty large law firm and I cut back to 4 days a week, but we are penalized for cutting back. They take 25% off of our benefits/time right off of the top for cutting our time…. Love those law firms…..

  3. Mustangs on July 13th, 2008 6:36 am

    Stevenson University has had a four-day work-week in July since the late 1970’s. It’s a great tradition that saves energy and provdes a nice benefit for employees

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