SOLUTIONS AT WORK
Four day work weeks
by Florence Kizza
Is it going to be the rage—or just a short-term fad? Birmingham, Alabama started doing it in July. The state of Utah started doing it in August. The state of Washington began this month.
Colleges and universities are trying it out in significant numbers. Count Delaware Valley College, Palo Alto College, Rose State College, Florida International University and dozens others among the experimenters.
I’m talking about the four-day work week.
Why a four-day workweek? And how?
Brevard Community College has completed the experimentation phase. The school moved to a four-day workweek in summer 2007 and saved $268,000 in energy costs, reports Time magazine. Sick leave fell 50 percent and staff turnover dropped 44 percent.
At Delta College in Michigan, they call it Summer Green Fridays. “The College held a ‘Sustainability Summit’ for employees and members of the community in March 2008, and workweek adjustments were among the many ideas submitted for consideration,” explains Tamie Grunow, director of human resources. “So far, the comments have been positive.” Delta's decision on whether to continue with Summer Green Fridays will be made after a sizeable survey is completed, says Grunow.
In my research for this article, I encountered schools who had implementing work week changes in either of two ways. Some chose to work longer days on Mondays through Thursdays and close on Fridays, resulting in longer weekends and savings on campus energy costs. “We knew that closing the majority of facilities on campus for one day would potentially realize a 20 percent reduction in facilities costs,” says Ricky Lee, director of college relations at Miles College. Miles switched to a four day work week for the summer, but reverted back to five for the fall.
Other schools leave the scheduling up to individual departments, asking supervisors to make sure that their offices stay open five days a week, while employees each choose a preferred personal schedule. Oakland University offered their employees a four-day work week from the mid-July through August. “We didn’t have a reduction at all in services," explains Ted Montgomery, media relations director. "In fact, you could make a case that we increased services because people worked 10 hour workdays four days a week. As a result, some of our student services offices were open one or two hours later every day. It worked out really well.”
While working as registrar at Southeastern Louisiana University, Randall Webb experienced both implementations. “That was my learning laboratory,” says Webb. “I was in charge of enrollment services at the university, and I felt it was vital for us to provide the services every weekday. And we were able to be open longer hours each week. Staffers espcially enjoyed the schedule, because they’re the ones who designed it.”
The advantages and disadvantages of a four-day workweek
Advantages? Take your pick. Decreased sick leave and turnover, increased productivity, gas money savings for employees, reduced pollution and less traffic have all been cited. But energy savings and employee morale are presently the most popular two.
“It’s family friendly and eco-friendly,” says Montgomery. “Staff members can spend more time with family, and the university leaves a smaller carbon footprint.”
“I’ve received thank yous for doing this,” says Webb, now president of Northwestern State University. Northwestern began four-day work weeks in July and currently continues the schedule.
Any disadvantages? Yes. Childcare that covers extended hours can be difficult to find and costly. And ten-hour days can be grueling. And those who are considering closing their offices on Fridays should consider their customers and suppliers.
“Some chose not to do it because they didn’t want to work 10 hours. They felt it took too much time from family.” says Montgomery of the four-day work week at Oakland University.
“Not every office in every department could take advantage of it,” says Connie Dziagwa of West Virginia University at Parkersburg, where a four-day tryout occurred this summer and continued into the fall semester. "Many of our offices are one person operations, and it wouldn’t work for them."
Let’s take a closer look at four-day work week experiments at each of three schools. West Virginia University at Parkersburg tried it out this summer and continues with the schedule. Offices stay open five days a week from 8am to 4pm, and employees work out with their supervisors how to get 37½ hours of work into four days by coming early and/or staying late on those days.
Miles College chose to close down on Fridays this summer, changing their daily schedules from reporting at 8am to reporting at 7:30am and cutting lunch break back from one hour to 30 minutes on Mondays through Thursdays. At the end of the summer, they reverted back to their 8am starts and hour long lunches, Mondays through Fridays.
Northwestern State University also started a four-day work week this summer and has chosen to continue it in the fall. At NSU, offices stay open five days a week and individual employees and supervisors coordinate four-day work weeks in a schedule beneficial to both parties.
Click the links below to read interviews with three experts.
Randall Webb, Northwestern State University
Ricky Lee, Miles College
Connie Dziagwa, West Virginia University at Parkersburg