Deseret News | Reader comments: Decision about 4-day workweek awaits analysis

Reader comments
Decision about 4-day workweek awaits analysis

Air Quality | 1:41 p.m. June 17, 2009

I think the statement about the air quality being better because state workers don't commute on Friday is faulty. I have a family member who works for the state and on his fridays off he always takes his family somewhere, or drives to the golf course. He probably drives farther on the days off than when he works. I have personally experienced no better traffic on Friday, so if traffic isn't better how is air quality getting better?

TERRIERS7 | 2:03 p.m. June 17, 2009

FOR US RURAL FOLKS, MY EXAMPLE IS I LIVE 65 MILES AWAY FROM MY GOVERNMENT SERVICES, IT IS REALLY HARD TO GET TIME FROM WORK TO DRIVE 135 MILES FOR SERVICES. I'M SORRY BUT I AM AND HAVE BEEN A CIVIL SERVANT EMPLOYEE FOR 30 YEARS AND I JUST THINK THAT GOVERNMENT SERVICES SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO CITIZENS ON THE REGULAR 5 DAY WORK WEEK. WHY IS IT THAT IN TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES THE CITIZENS SEEM TO BE THE FIRST TO LOOSE SERVICES.
BUT THEN I ALSO THINK A HUMAN BEING SHOULD ANSWER A GOVERNMENT OFFICE TELEPHONE INSTEAD OF A MACHINE. SOME FOLKS WHETHER ELDERLY OR CHALLENGED IN SOME WAY ARE INTIMIDATED BY AUTO SYSTEMS. SORRY I'M JUST OLD SCHOOL. THANK YOU.

Julie | 2:21 p.m. June 17, 2009

It might have saved the state a little bit of money, but as for state employees who did not witness a cost of living increase due to the state's budget, this only created more expenses for us. due to our longer work days, our day care costs are out the roof and since we can only leave our children at the day care for 9 hours per day, our extra hour at work plus commute time costs us a huge amount of money each week because we are paying overtime to our providers LITERALLY BY THE MINUTE FOR EACH MINUTE OVER THE 9 HOURS WE ARE PAYING AS MUCH AS $1.00 PER MINUTE!!! So we are literally paying the state for the opportunity to work for them since we don't get a raise to compensate for the budget shortcomings. It has been very hard and I hope they go back to the 5 day work week.

Comments continue below

Not for me. | 2:29 p.m. June 17, 2009

I'd love to work for the State but I am NOT interested in 10-hour shifts during the week. I've got things that I do, other responsibilities, such as taking University classes, religious responsibilities, and family duties, that don't jive with working 10-hour shifts and getting home late. Unfortunately, I'll take my skills elsewhere or to another State.

Hooray for 4-Day | 4:55 p.m. June 17, 2009

Put me down as a state employee who loves the four-day workweek. I hope the state keeps it. By the way, more energy could be saved if certain employees were told to stay home on Fridays, instead of coming into the office, and insisting that it be heated and cooled (you know who you are).

Government Savings? | 9:54 p.m. June 17, 2009

Even though most state workers only need to work their "40 hours" per week....most still have work to do and need to come in on Fridays and Saturdays occasionally to try to catch up.
I have worked 4-10's for 10 years now and enjoy it and occasionally 5 or 6 10's. I have enjoyed it as being a nice benefit due to the flexibility. I have several people working for me and previously had several different work schedules preferred and allowed for them to get their work done. My group does work that does not interact with the public everyday and thus it worked well and even then we still had 5 days and about 12 hours a day covered if needed do to the flexible schedules. This last winter when we had to finish a project on a Friday the office was about 50 so all the inefficient space heaters were plugged in along with wearing coats to get the work done.

4 DAY WORK WEEKS RULE!! | 7:44 a.m. June 18, 2009

I work for the state and I drive MUCH less, I save on gas (upwards of $40/week), I am able to be at home with my kids on Fridays (family values!), I am more active in my community (think local...), I can actually volunteer one day a week and still play on the weekend... The fact that the offices are open 2 more hours a week means that rural folks, who have to commute much further, actually can drive to any given office before closing time. In general, this is the most progressive thing the state of Utah has done in years. Adapting to change is hard, that's why haters of this plan exist... don't be a hater if you aren't in the game! 4-Day work weeks RULE!

Bumblebee | 7:44 a.m. June 18, 2009

I find it hard to believe that someone so "family-oriented" and strong in his religious beliefs that pertain to "the family" would incorporate a plan that makes it much harder to spend time with your family - especially young children. I hardly see my kids anymore - I don't get to help them off to school or make them breakfast, and then I get home so late that I barely get dinner on the table by 8:00 pm, and after dinner, they go right to bed. I have no time to get anything else done during the week, so my Friday's are devoted to running all of my errands, Dr. Appts, etc - and cram it all into one day. I can't even imagine what single parents do. I feel like this schedule has, unfortunately,made my family less "together".

What about Productivity? | 8:37 a.m. June 18, 2009

Per-hour productivity has dropped substantially under the 10-hour workday. And, the reason savings will be less than estimated? A faulty estimation process! The governor was estimating a 20-percent decline in utility bills (one day in five). But, the state still has to pay to heat and cool buildings the same number of hours. . .so the savings would be far from 20 percent. Also, this is very detrimental to anyone interested in family life, continuing education, church/community service or who needs to work another job. Particularly workers with young children are affected because when workers are off on Friday. there children are in school!

State Employee | 8:42 a.m. June 18, 2009

I am on the fence with this. I am a state employee and live in a rural area. I don't think that staying open an hour later and opening an hour earlier is beneficial to our customers. Most of the people in our town don't realize (even after almost a year) that we are open that late. The first hour of work and the last hour of work are murder. We serve maybe 1 customer after 5 and before 8. 4/10's have had it hard to eat dinner at a decent time. By the time you get home you are exausted and all you want to do is sit down and relax. The last thing you want to do is make dinner. It has conflicted with other activities as well. On the other hand I love my 3 day weekends. It makes it easier to take little mini vacations. But having friday off is like a catch up day. So I don't really concider in part of the weekend.

Bill | 9:16 a.m. June 18, 2009

Hey ...Lets make it three ...no two days a week ...look how much we can save ..In fact ...we could save even more if we reduced it to one day a week ...

Bryan | 11:07 a.m. June 18, 2009

What about state employees who are still trying to continue their higher education? They cant take night classes because they start at 530 or 6. Now my wife's student loans have to be paid back sooner than expected without the chance of getting a better education. They're so strict they wont even let them come earlier to leave earlier.

I would rather work 5 days with flexibility to get a master's degree at night than work 4 10's and being stuck in that same position with the only pay increase a cost of living because I could not qualify for a better position.

Rebecca | 11:43 a.m. June 18, 2009

I am a state employee who doesn't think much of the 4-day workweek and the reasons for it. Why does it take a 4-day workweek to reduce janitorial services? You could do that with a 5-day workweek. Also, I drive MUCH more on Fridays running errands, visiting family who are further away, taking vacations, etc. How can you ever prove the energy savings is like taking 2300 cars off the road for a year? I smell a calculation based on rosy estimates and flawed reasoning.

An earlier comment said, "more energy could be saved if certain employees were told to stay home on Fridays." Even if you could somehow make me stay home from work on Fridays, you can't make me stay home period. It's not like I can change the theremostat when I go in for a few hours on Fridays anyway.

The whole program was poorly implemented and barely justified. Who knows but that it'll cost more to change back to a 5-day workweek. Bottom line is there are no noticeable benefits to the 4-day workweek to taxpayers or to many state employees, and it's beginning to show.

Mallori | 12:10 p.m. June 18, 2009

This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. This isn't going to help! People will just go on vacation or drive and go places instead of driving to work! Driving isn't going to go down. And I can't afford to work only four days I barely make ends meet having a five day week.

Juanita | 1:23 p.m. June 18, 2009

I am a state employee and because of the 10 hour day I cannot take public transportation as it does not serve my area early enough or late enough. I had to quit school also -- how can you save energy when they cannot get the heating/cooling systems to flow properly. I am thankful I do not have children to get up earlier in the day and get home later in the day. I spend more time driving on Fridays making up for what I can't do on my way home from work now. I also have to still take time of for Drs etc because they aren't open Fridays -- sorry 10 hours is the pits

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