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See the original image at sustainablog.org

Utah's Mandatory 4 Day Work Week = Environmentally Friendly

sustainablog.org — Utah has become the first US state to make it mandatory to take a three day weekend. Governor Jon Huntsman, a first-term Republican, has introduced the change, which will affect the majority of state employees, in an attempt to reduce the state ’s carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency & improve customer service as a whole.

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  • Todesengelvr6, on 07/02/2008, -20/+94So wait... I can have a harem of wives, and only work 4 days a week? Still not worth moving to Utah....
    • Tammy2661, on 07/03/2008, -6/+2LOL
    • veruus, on 07/03/2008, -6/+1OH MAN!! BECAUSE THEY'RE POLYGAMISTS, RITE? GOOD ONE!!
    • gooddealsman, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1You've obviously never been to Utah!
    • saisumimen, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1I man, FFS, you'd have to drive to another state just to buy decent beer!
    • LeeSoong, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2Well, of all the wives and the dad, 4 days a week working means someone is always home to babysit the 35 children,
      you just need 1 husband and 7 wives (the 7th wife helps give the other wives some needed days off..)


      No, not sarcasm.


      Mormons have always been a target of state sponsored religious discrimination, along with Native American and original European religions...

      Gay marriage is now legal in California,
      so plural marriage should also be legal:
      Freedom of Association.
  • TruckStuff, on 07/02/2008, -10/+50Anyone else see the irony in "reducing the carbon foot print" of a state that is largely used for nuclear testing and/or toxic waste dumps?
    • SeventhSon, on 07/02/2008, -2/+14Let's be honest. I love living in Utah, but for this state, that's pretty much near the end of an endless list of really weird stuff that happens here.
      • HxChris91, on 07/02/2008, -9/+10Dugg down for innacuracy "I love living in Utah..." not possible.
      • noisewaterphd, on 07/03/2008, -0/+20I'm not even LDS and I also absolutely love Utah. Big enough city to have everything you need, and the most diverse outdoors in the nation. I guess it depends on what you like.
      • djholybolt, on 07/03/2008, -8/+4lol @ 'most diverse'

        Grow a ***** beach and we'll talk.
      • quaxon, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1"and the most diverse outdoors in the nation."

        Thats complete *****. Where i live (SF) there is the beach 5 minutes away, beautiful snowcapped mountains and great snowboarding 2 hours away, and beautiful red wood forests just north of here. Most diverse outdoors in the nation my ass, but whatever keeps you sane there.
    • Phoenyx, on 07/03/2008, -1/+8[citation needed]
      All of the congressmen from Utah are vehemently opposed to nuclear testing/waste in Utah. They all run with it as part of their platform. There is especially fierce opposition in southern Utah, when above ground testing in Nevada in the 1960's was carried by the wind over the borders (and increasing cancer rates now).

      I'm curious where all of this nuclear testing and dumping is happening.
    • ajv570, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Probably the 'Yucca Mountain' but thats in Nevada so idk
  • Duositex, on 07/02/2008, -3/+61I wish that this was true in my state... I would LOVE to work four ten-hour days instead of five eight-hour days.
    • fluxion, on 07/03/2008, -1/+16rather, four 11 hours days instead of five 11 hours days for me
    • glxyjones, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6I work for the Navy and we have to option to work up to 10 hours each day and therefore, take a day off each week. Most people do Friday but some do Monday or even Wednesday. The 10 hours days take some major getting used to but it's great to be at work on Thursday and have it feel like a Friday.

      It also makes Sunday nights/Monday mornings easier because you only have to work for 4 days, not 5.
    • Tammy2661, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Me too.
    • kittnerrules, on 07/04/2008, -0/+110 hour work days really suck...my opinion.
  • ryan83189, on 07/02/2008, -8/+11I would like a four day work week, but it don't see how it would be helpful. People will still drive on the extra day off to catch up on errands, and the extra power a longer work day would need, to light and heat into the evening seems to trump any benefits skipping one commute would have.
    • noahhoward, on 07/03/2008, -4/+7What we fail to realise is no matter how long we work there is always more work to do we're not going to finish any faster if we work 32 or 40 hours because we are NEVER going to finish. When you cut back to a 32 hour week you end up with about 12 hours that lights and computers and other equipment will be off. Why they decided they still needed to do 40 hours I'm not sure.

      • WoollyMittens, on 07/03/2008, -1/+9You misunderstood. The idea is to work 40 hours a week. Only spread over less days.
    • lbeaty1981, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1My thoughts exactly. Still, if they're able to prove it does benefit the environment in some way, maybe the other states will start jumping on-board. I would most definitely be okay with a 3-day weekend.
      • lutiana, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1I'd be happy with working 4 days every other week.
      • snoozevmw, on 07/03/2008, -0/+19/80s (M-Thurs 9 hrs, F 8 hrs, every other F off) are great and are pretty much the norm in the industry I work. I probably donate more to the economy on my days off as I do more on my three day weekends than I would having only Saturday and Sunday off.
    • drunkmonkey01, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3i can see it helping in one way: rush hour traffic reduction. having ***** rush hour traffic in the morning and afternoon 4 days a week (in a big city) instead of 5 would probably improve people's gas mileage since they wouldn't be driving stop-and-go on the highway. on the other hand, people might drive a lot more on that day off, thus voiding the better mpg. so who knows
  • aislinnmarie, on 07/02/2008, -0/+13A four day work week is fine, it's better than kids having a four day school week. Where would you find daycare for all of those kids on just Fridays. It's a working families nightmare.
    • yayster, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6working families are a nightmare.
      • sodade, on 07/03/2008, -10/+3I agree. If you can't afford to raise your children yourself, then DON'T ***** BREED. It's not like the world is hurting for a larger population.
    • MaximusD, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Unless the working family is also on the 4 day schedule, then parents would get an extra free day with their kid -- it would improve family life.
    • aeosocial, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Your thoughts are exactly what's wrong with America. Why the hell should it take 18 years to educate a child? LESS IS MORE. You just need to find amazing teachers and pay them WELL. How can you expect a $50K teacher to be awesome. You're clueless about the strings that control society.
  • mithrasinvictus, on 07/02/2008, -1/+15If people were allowed to decide on which days they take off, traffic congestion would be reduced and offices will need less space.
    The extra time off would benefit overall population health and consumer spending.
    • poptoppyramid, on 07/03/2008, -2/+9Offices would also be consuming more power than if everyone was out on the same days.
      • Buckeye17, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1Very true, smart thinking.
      • mithrasinvictus, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1In the short term, they will consume power because they will have excess capacity. But i don't think that would offset all those cars idling in traffic congestions.
        But over time businesses will occupy less space and it will be more efficient.
      • JPong01, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0@mithrasinvictus

        Offices would still need the same amount of space. People won't move all their stuff around to an empty office every day of the week since there would be no guarantee that someone wouldn't occupy their space.
  • lordblue, on 07/02/2008, -4/+6OK, how can I get this to happen in Texas?
    • HxChris91, on 07/02/2008, -0/+18Move to Utah.
    • falstaff, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Don't know about TX, but in California the payroll law says anything over 8 hours/day is overtime. There are some loopholes, but it makes things difficult (more expensive) for employers to provide this flexibility even if the workers and the employers both want it.
  • Chalks777, on 07/03/2008, -3/+24"in an attempt to ... improve customer service"

    LOL
    • revjustin2, on 07/03/2008, -2/+7LOL

      It's contagious.
    • Firemeboy, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1DMV open from 7:00 until 6:00. Why does nobody get this?

      Oh yeah, because it's Digg.
  • rakkar, on 07/03/2008, -9/+2Nice strawman. Why not go to a 0 day workweek, and reduce the carbon footprint to nothing?
    • jotate, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5If you can work 40 hours in 0 days, then sure, that makes total sense.
    • comrade693, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Not a strawman when there is evidence to back it up (and more ongoing studies too)
  • SpacePoet, on 07/03/2008, -1/+8A lot of questions unanswered there. Will school hours be changed? What about retail and hospitality? Will all employers be forced to give employees 3 days off a week? Seems like it's only being implemented for the benefit of government workers, but in general i like the idea.
  • laminac, on 07/03/2008, -2/+4I live in Utah, I think it is a good idea, now I won't have to get off early to do something with the government since they will be open either earlier or later. It does make it easier, so what if I can't get something done on Friday I will just wait till monday, no big deal if you plan for it. Also they will save money on heating/AC since they can turn it down while the building is not in use.
    • uberfu, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2yeah - but it's being run an extra 2 hours per day the other 4 days - so it balances out and nothing is being "saved"_
      • Kirizan, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Yea, what's being saved is the trip to and from work for one day for all non-essential government employees in Utah.
      • iceperson, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3In the building I work in the heat/ac is turned up/down in the evenings and then back on early before people start showing up, so a lot of energy is wasted preparing for people to be in each day. That energy would effectively be "saved" for friday.
      • Buckeye17, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3The savings will come from not having to start up the AC/heat as much. Kinda like city-driving vs highway driving.
  • freezerburn666, on 07/03/2008, -6/+1uh, what about your paycheck?!
  • bschonec, on 07/03/2008, -11/+4G-D-it. Carbon is NOT a poison. I'm so sick of this "carbon footprint" bullcrap.... How about just turning the lights off when you leave the room?
    • WasabiBomb, on 07/03/2008, -3/+5Put a plastic bag over your head for a few minutes and then come back and tell us how "carbon is NOT a poison".
      • 11b1p, on 07/03/2008, -2/+3You mean Carbon Dioxide?
      • WasabiBomb, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2Either one, actually, since carbon dioxide is basically "burned" carbon. If you know of a good way to have, say, powerplants emit carbon in solid form instead of as CO2, I'm sure the world would love to hear it. Bschonec maintains that carbon is not a poison, when for all practical purposes, it IS. The fact that charcoal won't hurt you is irrelevant.
  • uberfu, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4I'm down with a 4 day work week_ and having a 3-day weekend_

    I get that to some extent where I'm at - it's not mandatory and only applies over the summer as optional_ I don't always follow it_ But I usually end up putting enough hours in anyway that my boss is cool if I slip out for a few hours here and there_

    I am completely in favor of anything that breaks the required 5-day work week scheme_
    • analogkid01, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8You have a unique way of underscoring your points.
  • AriaStar, on 07/03/2008, -3/+4I think it's a good idea, carbon footprint aside. It's not often adults get to take vacations, and just a couple days a week to do weekend chores doesn't leave much time for downtime. I don't know about you, but I always spent (Silicon Valley layoffs hit me) my Saturdays just trying to rest and get energy to go do fun stuff, but then Sunday couldn't be a late night because of work the next morning.
  • urbanlindsay, on 07/03/2008, -2/+2I think that is a fantastic idea - both for the green value and for employee morale!
  • solecize, on 07/03/2008, -10/+6***** Utah- I'm a workaholic and will work 7 days a week if I want to.
  • kingtaj, on 07/03/2008, -1/+8I love how these days anything can be justified by "becoming greener". In the name of the environment, I too will sacrifice and work only 4 days a week.
  • alternateheaven, on 07/03/2008, -2/+11Limiting the work week never works, just ask France
    • Buckeye17, on 07/03/2008, -4/+8Will do. Does France have an e-mail?
    • pweegar, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6Sorry, but there aren't many countries in Europe that work 40 hrs. I know the Germans work something like 38 or 38.5. By 1pm on Friday's everyone is gone for the weekend.
      • Treoinmypocket, on 07/03/2008, -0/+9And who has the largest and most productive economy in the world?
      • hakkola, on 07/03/2008, -2/+5Largest, sure, the number of people probably helps, and while the U.S has the most competitive economy this year, Finland had the most competitive a year or two ago, with a shorter work week.

        World economic forum most competitive economies:

        1. U.S
        2.Switzerland
        3. Denmark
        4. Sweden
        5. Germany
        6. Finland

        Mostly European countries with shorter work weeks.
      • Treoinmypocket, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5HAKKOLA -

        Some perspective for you...
        http://flickr.com/photos/22994175@N03/2205172655/s ...
    • drunkmonkey01, on 07/03/2008, -0/+11france lowered the full-time working hours to 35. thats not the same as working 40 hours over 4 days
      • Treoinmypocket, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4France did that 10 years ago but Sarkozy is trying to change it back, calling it an economic mistake that did not create jobs as was the intention in the first place.

        Here's a link to jsut one of many, many article on it. I think this sums it up pretty well.

        http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/06/18/ap512826 ...
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 07/03/2008, -7/+5Europe seems like it has a better standard of living every day.
    • bigsteve3OOO, on 07/03/2008, -1/+0France a workers paradise unless you are a truck driver; fisherman; vintner; steel worker or ant other type of worker.
  • hansol2, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Except this is anything but eco friendly. It will save the state money on energy expenses but in reality people will spend their extra free time running errands and going on weekend getaways using even more energy. But it's ok because it's in the name of the 'green bandwagon'. Gimme a break
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1I don't think that necessarily follows.
      People already drive around for errands.
      With an extra free day, perhaps most of the time, people will use it to do work around the house or recreation that uses less energy than they would at the office.

      We will find out -- which is why this is a good experiment to try.
    • themonkman, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1The reason why we never obtain real energy efficiency is because there are those people like hansol2 who are cynics about nearly anything that wants to be tested. He predicts people will just run more errands or do more traveling, but could it also be predicted that they won't? You cannot come to a conclusion about any hypothesis without testing it. There are obviously bad ideas out there that just shouldn't be tested, but this is one of those that would be worth trying.

      Besides, I'm all for the States saving money on energy and expenses. That means they don't have to tax me as much, and as a fiscal conservative that makes me happy. I am also very energy conscious in my own home and I've been able to reduce my electric bill by nearly half without spending much more than $80 in lights and by changing some of our habits.
    • hansol2, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1If you actually think this will lower your taxes you're sadly mistaken.
  • prophet5, on 07/03/2008, -3/+4What about people who have their kids in daycare? If they have to work 7-6, and their daycare closes at 6, how are they going to pick up their kids?

    Carbon dioxide isn't a poison. Just ask a tree. People exhaling in China (just the people in China) output more CO2 than all of the cars and factories in the USA. You don't see them calling for an end to people in China, do you?
    • analogkid01, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3leaf@tree.co-- oh god dammit.
    • supermanly, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1You don't see them calling for an end to people in China, do you?

      Says who:P
    • hakkola, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1You mean, like, 1 child for every couple?
    • themonkman, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3Prophet,

      Of course CO2 isn't a poison. Nobody in the climate field has said that. In excess, just like any other natural compound, it can pose a problem to the climate or life on the planet. If you were to cover the planet in a fine dust of lead, you could be sure that most forms of life would die off or be unable to reproduce properly. If you unload trillions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, you will throw off the natural balance of gases and cause climate changes which will result in severe weather changes, as well. Super volcanos in the past have also been known to do this when they erupt. If you need a good example of how CO2 can over-incubate earth, just come to my lab and I'll show you what happens to the internal temperatures of my CO2 incubators when I turn up the CO2 supply on them.
    • RizzoFrank, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0No more kids allowed in utah, they produce to much CO2 running around and being active and all that *****.

      also, apparently you are not aware of the one child law in china...
    • Blg7, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0I love it when people like prophet5 make ridiculous statements like "Carbon dioxide isn't a poison" and actually believe that proves any point at all or is even tangentially related to the topic of global warming. hahahaha. Classic.

      < sarcasm >That changes EVERYTHING! Thanks Sherlock! < / sarcasm>

      As for daycare - obviously with people at work longer daycares will have incentive to stay open later to fill that need. They are businesses, after all.
  • danc4498, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6Me = Moving to Utah
    • rendersan, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1It only applies to government employees. Hope you like working for the state tax commission.
  • kalvinb, on 07/03/2008, -1/+7If I had to work 10 hours in a day I wouldn't see my daughter any day I had to work except for a few minutes in the morning before I left.

    It also means no family dinner 4 days a week.

    The five day work week means you come home at a decent time so you can spend time with your family for dinner and in the evening before sending the kids off to bed.

    I'd rather have telecommute Fridays than a 10 hour work day.
    • drunkmonkey01, on 07/03/2008, -2/+2you could eat dinner later.
      • kalvinb, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2If I get off at 7 then I won't be home until 8pm which is bedtime for baby. Even if you get home at 7:30 you have all of a half hour of family time before the kids go to bed. That's barely enough time to eat much less play.



      • drunkmonkey01, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1wow ur kids get a lot of sleep. thats good tho, i wish i got that much...
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1You make a good point. Not everyone can do the 10 hour days.

      BUT, making it a law might allow for more flexibility, as it will force schools and other groups to adapt. Without everyone doing it, it would be hard to work it into the society.

      Time will tell if people can manage this well.
    • eengineer, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2Go to work at 6:00 am your out by 4 or 5 if you have a lunch. You get dinner with the fam. I used to work 4-10's on my last job and I loved it. I had much more time with my friends/family.
      • kalvinb, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1It's an hour commute with diminishing returns the early I go in from where I am. If I were to attempt to get into work at 6 am I'd have to leave at around 4:30 am or earlier. Currently I leave at 7:30 which is the end of rush hour. 5-7 is the peak of rush hour. With 9 hours of sleep I'd have to be in bed by 7pm or earlier. I'm not a morning person, I'm not functional until about 9am.

        It doesn't matter how you fudge the numbers, you end up with practically no family time four days a week. And you get only one extra full day. If I had to work 4 10 hour days I'd quit.

        So not only does this law hurt families, it makes the jobs suitable only for morning people.

        This plan ruins the family for four days a week. If you don't have a family and are a morning person then by all means go ahead and work long days. But if you make it a law I "have" to, I'm quitting and finding a private company to work for.

        I'm sure the state loves the idea because families with two working parents (fortunatly my wife doesn't have to work) now have to spend a lot more money on day care and can no longer home school their kids if they wanted to. Which means more tax money going to public schools. So for four days a week the only people seeing the kids are the state. Fantastic.

        As it is, I have enough time after work 5 days a week to help with homeschooling when our daughter gets old enough. We'll also be able to take her to extracurricular activities as well. With this plan, you're going to have to pay someone else to do it unless all your activities are on Fridays.
      • eengineer, on 07/07/2008, -0/+0Really? 5-7 is peak rush hour? If I leave at 5:00 I am at work by 5:20. If I leave at 6:30, 7:15, 7:00, 8:00-8:15. Not sure after that, but man that sucks. You have an hour and a half commute? Can I ask how far do you drive?
  • debbie321, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Well, I'm here in downtown Salt Lake City, at work... this is day # 4. I will be here tomorrow and Saturday too. I guess they forgot to give us the memo.
    • DRC1, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0If you bothered reading the article you would have seen that the system will get into effect on August 4.
    • Tammy2661, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0LOL
  • sgtkazz, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1I love the 'improve customer service'. Can someone who thinks this is so great explain their take on that? Sounds like a load of rubbish to me.
  • seanbro, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5My work just implemented this exact policy. So far it's very tolerable and isn't that taxing on the body or mind. I will spend my weekends relaxing and working on personal projects. If I do run errands, the majority will be local. I will certainly be saving gas with this new schedule without making a special effort to. I'm sure lots of people are in the same boat.
  • mizraabianz, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Am the only one who feels that the article lacks important information like how many hours one have to work those 4 days? I assuming it would be 10 hours to compensate the extra day.
  • byrc, on 07/03/2008, -5/+1Awesome, so instead of being at work for 8 hours 5 days a week, they will have another day to drive to Home Depot and Costco and consume and buy and drive to all their little engagements that are oh so important now that their three day weekends affords them the chance to waste their time and their lives chasing this fake American dream that our society crams down our throats from day one.

    This won't do a ***** thing, it will encourage more travel, consumerism and consumption. All of those things = higher carbon emissions. *****.
    • MaximusD, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2I suppose it's better than spending 5 days a week chained to a desk, working for the man. And at least you have the freedom to do something positive (like volunteer one day a week) with your leisure time.
    • rossisdead, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2No, you're talking about the exact opposite of the American dream. The American dream these days is to work your life away only to die 60 years later having done nothing with your life but answer phones and do paper work. If anything, mandatory three day weekends give people the opportunity to have a life again.
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1This is silly.
      If you have more free time -- you have more time to actually do some labor for yourself.

      If someone is going to go to Home Depot and Costco -- they will do it on Saturday.

      Right now, I buy junk for projects but never have time to actually do the projects.
    • byrc, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1All of you make valid points, if you give human nature the benefit of the doubt and assume people will not just waste another day. "The Man" is not causing humans to waste their lives away, the problem exists in the people themselves, and their own slavery to the material world. The man is a means to an end, but not the cause...
    • hellsing47, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1It sounds like you might be talking about yourself.

      Not sure if venting on Digg is going to be all that therapeutic.
      • byrc, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Nice try but I am quite comfortable with who I am. Notice that above I stressed the importance of personal responsibility and the like? It would be completely hypocritical for me to talk ***** about others without the least bit of introspection into my own self.

        But sure I am totally talking about myself, thanks for the insight hellsing47.
  • Tribis, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3This only affects state employees.
    • scamper22, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2naturally. Doing it in the private sector would lower productivity, which matter only in the private sector
  • kqeda, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Less pay. :(
    • DRC1, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0No I think instead of working 8 hours per day, workers will have to do 10 hours to compensate for the "lost" day. That way your pay remains the same.
  • djepik, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1How will they run the 10 hour days?

    Currently in the construction industry - start at 7:00 + work through lunch + end at 5:00 = 10 hours and really no change to seeing family less on weekdays.
  • Eleat, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0Retail workers won't be affected - think about it, they're not bound to a five day work week anyways. It's only state employees. I think it's a great idea, especially because at the end of the day, everyone gets an extra two hours to do anything they need to in government buildings. I don't see it affecting the environment much, though.

    And no, not less pay. A lot of state workers live on a salary, to start with. And it would still be forty hours.
  • VitriolAndAngst, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5I applaud Utah for at least trying this. NO matter the opinion that people have of what the effect on productivity and energy will be -- there is nothing quite like putting ideas to the test.

    That's what we need -- whether ideas are good or bad, is to try a few of them out. If it turns out that a 4 day 10 hour work week uses more energy and/or has less productivity, then it might give us useful data. It may turn out that fewer hours per day, gets more work done.

    I'd also like to see more tax incentives to convince more businesses to use tele-commuting.
    • ColonelTribune, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Great point. In ten years, I wouldn't be surprised if 25 percent of the American population telecommuted.
  • m60dude5, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1I don't know. With the amount of work I have, I doubt I could work 4 days.
    • spoonchucks, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1The work of an inner city hooker is never finished...
  • ENCOM511, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1I've worked the 4/10 schedule in the past and I'd definitely work it again if given the opportunity. It was really nice to have that extra day each week to get things done.
  • ulsterwrod, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2telecommuting on the 5th day is a better idea.
    • eengineer, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0Not everyone can telecommute. I can thankfully, but I dont. Not saying I dont agree with your statement (i dugg you up) but it's not practical especially not for some state workers.
  • IMJGaltstill, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Anything the government does less of is good.
  • Tammy2661, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0I think I would like the 4 ten hour days. But I would think it would be 4 long days.
  • urgeigh, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2I can't believe nobody mentioned the idea that this will probably drastically improve the overall mental health of a lot of people (especially ones who aren't happy with their jobs). I'd be utterly ecstatic if I had the opportunity to work four 10's instead of five 8 hour days. The fact that I spend 5 or 6 out of 7 days at work has always depressed me. With the value of the dollar being what it is and the cost of living, it seems like it's constantly getting harder and harder to keep afloat making ~40-50k a year and I think this would be great for your average Americans and families with 2 working parents. More time with the family, more time to keep your home in order, more time for yourself.. what happened to being able to support a family on one income? Oh yeah, the "unavoidable" (*****) idea of inflation. Obviously not EVERYONE would get a 4 day work week cus not everyone even gets a 5 now, but if the option were more available I think it'd be great in general.
    • Haoie, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1That's a good point too, unless you're some rare person who actually enjoys their job.
  • Kallius, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Obviously only the government workers will get this benefit. Offices where all business exists within the state *could* implement it, but if you have any business outside the state (especially if you deal with different time zones as well), forget about it. And retail workers will never get this benefit either. Having to commute one less day a week is really helpful on the pocketbook, but I can't see anyone BUT state employees getting this perk.
  • lastdual, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0Chances are this will just lead to more people working a second job, and thus even more stress and driving. The simple fact is, people need the money.
  • Ilyanep, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2For some reason "TGIT" doesn't have the same ring as "TGIF"
    • xeomage, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1When I worked four tens, I opted to go with Tuesday through Friday. After all, who wouldn't want to skip Mondays?
  • Knabber, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1What's next? Government mandated bathroom breaks?
  • stillasleep00, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1This from the state where nothing's open on Sundays anyways? My car broke down up there on a roadtrip this last weekend, and we ended up being stuck there an extra day because no autoshop was open.
  • Barackalypse, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2So instead of getting home exhausted at 6 pm and having to make dinner and have an hour or two to myself, I now get to come home at 8 pm utterly spent, make dinner, and then go directly to bed? I don't see how that achieves work life balance, because that extra day I am supposed to get off will be mostly wasted by the fact that I'll be so tired from 4 ten hour days that I'll sleep until noon on Friday. How about they just let me work from home on Friday instead?
    • bubba9999, on 07/03/2008, -0/+12 hours makes that much of a difference, eh?

      That's cool. You can come in on Friday and cover the office while I take it off. I am all about this idea.
  • BECoole, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Instead of 8-5 it would be 8-7.
    Fine for some, but I would rather make it home in time to have some dinner and make my kid's 6:30 baseball games & sports practices. It's already difficult enough.
  • spoonchucks, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Anyone think this might be a ploy to reduce overtime? After all, you're staying there for 10 hours already. Would you want to stay any later?
  • nixfu, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5Just wait...

    NOW = 5 8 hour days

    NEXT = 4 10 hour days...try it its great


    FUTURE = yeah..we are gonna have to ask you to back to a 5 day work week like everyone else....oh yeah we are going to stick with the same 10 hour work days too.

  • audioslavery, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Environmentally friendly and Economically unsound

  • Geminii2, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0WOW, all I have to do is read comments on Digg to see idiotic ignorance in action. Thanks todesengelvr6 for making me feel smarter! Lets think a little before posting a moronic generalization huh!
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