Reader comments
Governor cuts energy usage

this is a good call. People can be productive from home if they need to on fridays, the web is wonderful. Plus it saves some tax payer money. Great work Guvnah. You'll keep getting my vote.

not only will some state offices now have better hours for Joe or Jane average to get service, energy will be saved AND traffic will get double relief -- less trafffic spread over more hours. Now if half of the federal government's 2+ million workers would do the same, as well as other state governments, there would be a real savings!

I think this is a great idea. A 10 hour day is really no big deal. The day off will result in my benefits for everyone. I for one an glad to see this happen!!

Great idea, but it also is inconvenient for people doing business with government offices who cannot do so on Friday. It not only saves the State energy costs but it also cuts down on transportation costs (energy) for the workers.

If it is great for government workers, how about letting our students, higher & lower education students, enjoy 3 day weekends. As a former school teacher it seemed that Friday wasn't a great day for learning anyway.

Think of the benefits for families to be able to spend more time together, with lower taxes perhaps for less energy use by government.

And perhaps it might be even better if buildings were only open three days per week, and students and workers left home only three days per week, but perhaps we would approach burnout those three days.

It seems to be win-win, but shouldn't we possibly consider the negatives also? Maybe not, since most of us would like to commute less and have longer weekends.

How about some research on the benefits and drawbacks before we put all of society on a four-day week? Or maybe not, since ignorance could really be bliss on this one.

How about doing the same with our schools?

Everyone would benefit by staying off the school bus for one day a week.

We could all spend more time with our families.

Win-win for everyone!

Who wants to stay at work until 7:00 pm?

Night owls would be willing to work 10-7. I know I would.

It will work for some and not others and those who have been taking public transportation will now have to drive everday because the buses either don't run earlier enough or late enough for some commuters. Longer work days makes it impossible to attend night classes or keep secondary jobs - There's pros and cons for all but I don't think the Gov should have done it without surveying the State Employees. He sent out a 4 question survey earlier this week then announces his plans. The survey did not cover peoples life away from the job, ie. family, schooling or secondary employement so was not really affective or honest

Studies and my own personal experiance shows that after 8 working hours you get very little work done, and mistakes go up. However, with government, this will not be noticable.

The gov didn't get any input from our agency. Our agency tried four tens five years ago and notice a decrease in productivity and higher potential for burnout. Also it makes it difficult to take public transportation which so many public employees rely on. Not to mention the parents that have to pick up their kids. The approach by the gov is if you don't like it find something else. This is just one more sign that the gov doesn't care or value public employees, after all he is trying to take away the merit system and chipping away at all of our benefits. Most people don't know but turnover of public employees has been the highest under our good gov.

I'm confused! How is this saving energy. 10 hour days. No Fridays. The days they are open LONGER to make up for Friday, isn't that burning the energy that Friday would save? It's true however, it saves on gas.

I look forward to it for myself. However parents with kids (esp single women) will have difficulties because of sports practices, school activities, daycare constraints, etc. HOpefully there will be flexibility for parents.

We can't complain about excessive energy use, protecting the environment, saving on resources, reducing gas and transportation crowding without being willing to take creative and sometimes difficult measures to make the difference. I notice that many people talk a lot about "doing something" but when an effort is made to do this, all we hear is how this will disrupt someone's schedule. You can't have it both ways. Fortunately for consumers, many services can be easily handled online - Utah has an award-winning site. The public would love for some departments to be open 24/7 but they certainly don't want to pay for such convenience in the form of taxes. So, if the Governor can think outside the box, save millions of tax dollars and avoid increasing taxes while helping the environment and the employees' pocketbooks, he should be applauded. We all know that creativity is not what government is known for. This shows a very progressive state. Yes, there are challenges and I believe he is sensitive to it. In the private sector employees are also subject to such decisions from top level management even without input (no doubt surveys would be nice). They do what they deem best.

Tom and Nightowls,
Where did you get 7:00 p.m.? The work week would be from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM..

I agree, the schools should do this too. Families should be encouraged. The kids get too much homework and time for outside activities, religious participation, sports and family time is rare. We would benefit society by creating a three day weekend for family time and then the families would truly use it for such. More can be accomplished in families than any school ever thought about. We should value having balance in our lives at every level.

Also, the extended day will compensate for the access even better than having Fridays open for business as many people request earlier or later times but government offices are historically 8 to 5.

Saving energy is everyone's business and it will take some sacrifice on the part of all. Way to go Utah!

How about we let government employees work 4 days a week, 8 hours a day? That's a 32 hour week.

- Taxpayers save money because most government employees are hourly.....we're paying 20% less wages.

- There's less time for those government employees to screw us over.

It's a win/win!

One huge savings beyond the gas is the electricity saved during the hottest part of the day (2-4 pm). Those A/C units crank out a lot of energy during those hours, but not as much during the gov's changes.

...That is true for summer months anyway. During the winter I guess you'd get the opposite effect and energy costs would increase.

Schools included; are you serious? You really think kids can stay focused for 10 hours? It's hard enough for 8 hours. No way on schools. And for the guy who got confused about 7:00 pm; you get off work at 6, but you won't be home till 7 if you drive anywhere to work. It will really be 12 hours days for many people.

Where do you get the idea that "government employees screw everyone over?"
My husband, father and sister all work for the state.
These employees work hard, my husband puts in 60 + hr work weeks at times so that you will have safe roads to drive on. My father investigates fraud in the medical community, keeping you and I and everyone safe from medical staff that would do everyone a lot of harm. My sister helps keep the computers in the state offices up and running to ease communication flow.
These employees work hard! They could work outside of the state and earn much more, but chose the state because they love what they do!
Show a little respect, for these great employees!

Way to go, Gov.

Now, take the next step, and ask the legislature to pass a resolution, encouraging all state industries to take similar measures wherever possible.

And here is a novel idea. Let's also encourage all retail businesses to close one day a week. Oh, wait! The Old Testament already made that suggestion. But, hey, maybe this energy crisis is a great reason to get back to it.