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Reduce Number of Work Days, Improve Everything follow this blog post

posted by on July 29, 2008

Working less will probably lead to higher productivity, says a new study at Bringham Young University.

The state government of Utah recently implemented a four day work week and experts believe it will result in higher job satisfaction and lower levels of work-family conflict. The researchers, Rex Facer and Lori Wadsworth of BYU’s Romney Institute of Public Management, believe these benefits will lead to higher productivity.

Most of the state employees in Utah work four 10-hour days a week during the transition period.

According to the researchers, Utah implemented the new schedule to save money on utilities and to give citizens a broader time range to access city hall services. Now they find they have also improved the morale of employees and improved their rate of retention among employees who save on fuel costs by commuting just four, instead of five days a week.

Even though four day work week employees work the same number of hours as their traditional work-week counterparts, they said they were more satisfied with their jobs, compensation, and benefits, and were less likely to look for employment elsewhere in the next year.

“I am hopeful that the state’s move to a four day work week will be a positive one,” said Wadsworth. “There are going to be very real benefits for employees, specifically decreased gas cost, decreased commute time (both because they only have to commute four days, but also because they’ll be commuting during off-peak times, so the commute could potentially be shorter each day), and hopefully, improved work-life balance.”

The study appears in the June issue of Review of Public Personnel Administration.

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7 comments

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  • 1 point 15 months ago

    I am afraid I don't know enough about this kind of data to put it into a cultural context.

    What has your personal experience been with flexible work times?

  • 1 point 15 months ago

    I'm using the Conference Board's "Total Economy Database" as the basis for my comments; you can find it here:

    http://www.conference-board.org/economics/downloads/TED08I.xls

    The United States GDP per capita has been significantly higher than France since this data has been collected (since 1965). Since 2000 and including 2007, the annual percentage difference has been 35.7%, 33.7%, 33.9%, 35.3%, 36.4%, 37.8%, 38.6%, and 38.7%.

    The United States GDP per Employed Person has been significantly higher than France since this data has been collected (since 1964). Since 2000 and including 2007, the annual percentage difference has been 12.9%, 13.5%, 15.2%, 16.0%, 16.2%, 16.3%, 16.0%, and 16.3%. In 1991, the difference was 6.4%, the lowest since the data has been collected.

    The United States GDP per Hour relative to France has been significantly decreased France since this data has been collected (since 1964). The data speaks louder than my words:

    1964 73.9% 1965 71.2% 1966 69.2% 1967 63.8% 1968 60.3% 1969 51.3% 1970 44.9% 1971 42.9% 1972 40.2% 1973 36.1% 1974 30.5% 1975 31.0% 1976 26.6% 1977 23.2% 1978 20.5% 1979 17.7% 1980 16.2% 1981 15.5% 1982 7.4% 1983 7.6% 1984 8.1% 1985 6.1% 1986 5.9% 1987 5.1% 1988 3.3% 1989 1.2% 1990 0.5% 1991 0.4% 1992 1.7% 1993 0.9% 1994 -0.7% 1995 -3.2% 1996 -1.3% 1997 -1.9% 1998 -2.6% 1999 -1.9% 2000 -3.2% 2001 -2.1% 2002 -2.3% 2003 -0.6% 2004 1.2% 2005 0.9% 2006 1.0% 2007 1.5%

    Close but not exactly a testament to differing employment strategies like the length of a work week...

  • 1 point 15 months ago

    This is a really great opportunity and I wish that my Company would consider this.

  • 1 point 15 months ago

    Hi Steven and Robert.

    When I read this study, I immediately thought of two other locations = Vancouver and France.

    Vancouver is similar to Utah in that it is surrounded by natural beauty and outdoor opportunities. Culturally, I have heard the same things said about both Utah and British Columbia. They are both places where people work to live rather than live to work. It gives them time to explore other interests.

    I also thought of France because of a study I read in Le Monde a few years ago about the reduction of the work week from 40 to 35 hours. The intent behind the reduction was to reduce unemployment. It was thought that for every 7 people working 5 hours per week less, another job would be created. Instead, people just became more effective at their jobs and got more done in less time.

    Opportunities have been created a result of new careers people find they cn pursue because they have more spare time. The most famous examples are Parisien families who bought a little farm house to spend their long weekends in. They fixed up the houses, maintainted the orchards and vineyards and found that they could actually earn a living doing the hobbies they love.

    Many of these dreams are financed through negotiating a severance agreement from the jobs that many people have been doing for decades. This, while expensive, does open things up for younger, less expensive workers.

    I do wonder, though, if people from Utah and Vancouver are also more sensitive to the environmental benefits of reducing commuting and emissions by commuting 4 times per week instead of 5 times. I cannot imagine benefits being valued in areas where the natural world is perceived as being less important.

  • 1 point 15 months ago

    Two weeks ago on TechRepublic (http://tinyurl.com/57qm3r) came a blog post where the author noted that "According to a recent Families and Work Institute study, from 1992 to 2002, the percentage of college-educated women and men among all ages who wanted more responsibility in their jobs dropped 21% and 16%, respectively."

    Now you know I hate the word recent when it refers to quite a few years ago so as soon as I read the study I'll report back here. Still, I'd suggest you read the comments associated with the above link - but keep in mind they're from IT peeps so the population is limited.

    Being of recent French ancestry, I wonder if anyone knows whether the French with their shorter work week and greater vacation allotment are more productive as a result? Or any other country that comes to mind...

  • 1 point 15 months ago

    I seriously think that most people would be more productive under a shorter work week. I have been pushing for 4 x 10's for a while now. Besides just being more productive, think of all the intangibles that come along with have a slightly longer weekend - better attitudes, possibly less burnout, etc...

    Robert Stanke http://www.robertstanke.com

  • 1 point 15 months ago

    Given the methodology of the study:

    "Data for this study were collected from a small growing community in the West. This city has a current population of nearly 30,000, having increased in population by more than 170% since 1990. As the city has grown rapidly, many service delivery issues have arisen. The city provides a full range of urban services, including garbage collection, pressurized irrigation, cable television, and high-speed Internet service. In an effort to enhance service delivery and minimize costs, the city adopted a modified work schedule in 2003 for some departments. Employees who are on the compressed workweek schedule generally work Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with offices closed on Fridays."

    I'm reasonably comfortable writing that the city is located in Utah near BYU (now I could call but I'm not that obsessed - heh, heh). So I'm left wondering if there's something unique about living in Utah that might "assist" in the success of a four-day work week. What could it be?

    Further, even the authors write in their conclusion, "The generalizability of the current study is limited, because of the use of employees of only one city."

    If you want to read the published report of the study, here it is:

    http://rop.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/28/2/166