Delaware Employment Law Blog

In Delaware, courts take a holiday on December 26.  Accordingly, most law firms are closed for the day, including ours.  And, not surprisingly, many Delaware lawyers will work anyway.  Duty calls. 

Is there a way to accomplish those important work tasks without having to sacrifice family time?  Enter telecommuting.

Technically speaking, telecommuting is one of many flexible work initiatives.  A telecommuter works from home full-time or several days out of the work week.  Telework or telecommuting involves work that normally would have been performed from a central office setting but can now be performed at home or remote location.  Telework requires the use a computer, an internet connection, telephone, scanner, and, perhaps, a fax machine. 

Telecommuting is an employment arrangement that involves moving work to the workers instead of workers to work.

Proponents of telecommuting claim (with good support), that efficiently run programs can offer employers the following benefits:

• Cost Savings through the reduction of overhead and fixed costs, such as rent.

• Increased Productivity of 10-40%, due in part to the absence of typical office interruptions.

• Improved Motivation of employees who see the program as a sign of trust and confidence.

• Skills Retention when an employee who would otherwise leave the workplace is able to stay. Includes employees on maternity leave, whose families move out of the area, whose disability prevents them from working in the standard office set-up, or who are nearing retirement but who the employer wants to retain as long as possible.

• Organization Flexibility is substantially improved. Teams can be created without consideration for geography or the need for travel. 

• Flexible Staffing by reducing the number of hours worked to those with the highest demand.

• External disruptions, such as natural disasters, inclement weather, traffic problems, and even security issues, have a lesser impact on the organization's ability to operate at a fully functional level.

• Enhanced Customer Service, which can be extended beyond the working day or the working week without the costs of overtime payments or the need for staff to work non-traditional business hours.

Each of these claimed benefits have at least some legitimacy.  Although telework may not be appropriate for every type of job or every type of workplace, it certainly seems to be attractive on a day like today when there's no need to be in the office and when my mother-in-law's cookies are guaranteed to be gone before lunch!

For more information on telecommuting or other flexible work schedules, be sure to see the Working TIme category, under Telecommuting.

Flexible work schedules are continually becoming one of the most demanded employment benefits.  Life Meets Work is an organization that promotes flexible work schedules and alternative work arrangements. The organization is currently conducting its first annual survey on the topic of work-life balance.

The goal of the survey, called Flexing, Floundering, or 'Just Fine Thanks': Work/Life Issues in America, is to capture the opinions of Americans challenges in balancing work and life, the role of government in work-life initiatives, and flexible work programs. Life Meets Work also wants to hear about the flex programs, and work-life initiatives from an employer's perspective.

Whether you're working parent, stay-at-home mom, business owner or human resources executive, Life Meets Work want to hear from you. The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Your responses are confidential.

The results of the study, along with a corresponding white paper, will be presented on a free Webinar, appropriately titled after the survey,  on October 28, 2008.

With the ever-increasing interest in alternative work schedules, Americans are curious how the candidates in this year's election feel about work-life issues, particularly our first woman (and mother)  Vice Presidential nominee.  MomsRising.org is an advocacy organization lobbying for the need of a more family-friendly America. They have drafted the following letter they encourage you to sign and submit to Governor Palin. The letter reads as follows:

Dear Governor Palin,

It was dazzling to see a mom on the stage at the Republican convention accepting  the Vice Presidential nomination.  There are too few mothers in the boardrooms and high levels of political office.  As members of MomsRising.org we celebrate your path from PTA to Vice Presidential candidate, but we didn't hear much in your speech about what you and your party will do for mothers and families. 

Due to the economic downturn, mothers and families are struggling more than before.  A quarter of families with children under age six are living in poverty, and having a baby is a leading cause of a “poverty spell” in our nation--a time when income dips below what’s needed for food and rent.  Women get a huge wage hit when they have children: mothers make only 73 cents to a man’s dollar, and single moms make only about 60cents.  Countries with family-friendly policies and programs in place--like paid family leave and affordable childcare--have smaller wage gaps for mothers, healthier children, and spend less funds later on the criminal justice system, grade repetitions, healthcare, and much more.

Our nation can’t afford to ignore the issues of mothers and families any longer.  We want to know where you stand on the issues which are critical to mothers like healthcare, fair pay, paid family and medical leave, afterschool programs, childcare/early learning, paid sick days, and flexible work options.
With now three-quarters of American mothers in the labor force, but a societal structure which hasn’t caught up to that modern reality, we, as a nation, are at a crisis point for our families.  Bottom Line: Mothers want to ensure the well-being of their families.  No mother should have to choose between taking care of a sick child and feeding her child. And no mother should have to choose between taking her child to the doctor and paying rent.

Governor Palin, if elected Vice President of the United States, how will you support mothers and families? Mothers across the nation look forward to hearing where you stand on our issues.

To submit this letter, visit MomsRising.org , and simply sign your name electronically to the letter, which will then be submitted by the organization to Palin.

Alternative schedules, such as "4/10s" (a/k/a four-day workweeks), have been hot topics for the past several months.  I know I've put more than my two cents worth of commentary out there recently.  So why is it that only a tiny percentage of the country's employees report having access to such flex-time initiatives? 

In a recent Gallup Poll, only 12% of workers say that their employers encouraged its employees to work from home one or more workdays per week.  And only 16% say that the idea of the 4-day workweek has been supported by management.  Yes, these are increases from alternative schedules reported in the past but they can hardly be considered to be representative of the general population. 

What hasn't increased, though, is telecommuting.  There has been 0% increase in the number of respondents who say they telecommute at all.  Well, no, that's inaccurate--that number has actually fallen 2%, down to 30% today as compared to 32% in 2006. 

What I found most important was the finding that employees who reported that they have telecommuted say that they do so as a way to put in extra hours on nights or on weekends.  Telecommuting, it seems, has no correlation to a reduced cost of driving. 

Any employer considering a four-day work week should consider the possible legal implications before making the plunge.  Four-day-work-week policies potentially invoke several employment laws that may impact the decision-making process.  So, prior to switching to a compressed schedule, read on for some thoughts on how such a switch may trigger obligations under the ADA, FMLA, NLRA, and other significant employment laws.

[This post covers an important topic in some detail and is may be a lot of information to digest at once. I've made the material available in a pdf via the link below]

The Americans With Disabilities Act

The Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”), prohibits workplace discrimination against qualified individuals with a disability. Employers have an obligation to make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an individual, unless the employer can show that the accommodation imposes an undue hardship or the person poses a significant risk of substantial harm to himself or others.

There is some risk that a compressed work week may have negative consequences for employees protected by the ADA.  For example, employees who have a disability that causes fatigue or weakness may require shorter work days and longer work weeks as a reasonable accommodation. In a workplace where all employees are converted to a compressed work week, the ADA would not require the employer to make an accommodation for the individual.  In that case, though, the employee who is unable to work an extended shift could find himself unemployed.

Of course, you may decide to offer the employee the opportunity to convert to a part-time schedule, thereby enabling him to continue on the reduced-hour shift. But if this alternative would cause the employee to lose his or her health-care coverage, it may not be seen as an alternative at all. Where only some of the workforce is converted to the reduced-day schedule, the employer should make every reasonable effort to preserve the employee’s accommodation by ensuring that he is not required to convert to the compressed work week.

Another scenario with the potential for negative consequences is in the case of an employee who takes time off for the treatment of a long-term or chronic condition. For example, an employee may be given off every Thursday afternoon so that he can receive kidney dialysis. This type of accommodation may have a more serious impact on the productivity of the workplace in a
four-day week. If he had previously been permitted to leave on Thursdays at 3pm instead of 5 pm, the company could be said to have lost 2 hours of work product during that time. Yet, in the compressed work week, the employee, who was too fatigued to return to work following his dialysis treatment, would now be out from 3 pm to 7 pm—doubling the lost time to 4 hours.

Although the employee may be able to push back the time for his weekly appointment to 5 pm, or even reschedule them for Friday afternoons instead, it is also possible that he may not be able to make the change for any number of reasons. It is safe to presume that he needed the appointment on Thursday originally for a reason, thereby necessitating the accommodation in the first place. In this case, the employer would have to find a way to work around the four hours of lost productivity. It would likely violate the ADA to revoke the employee’s accommodation.

The Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act ( “FMLA”), provides up to 12 work weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a twelve-month period for one of four qualifying reasons: (1) the birth of a child and the first year care of the newborn; (2) the placement of a child through adoption or foster care and the
first year care of the child; (3) the need to care for a parent, spouse or child with a serious health condition; and (4) the serious health condition of the eligible employee.  The FMLA provides for intermittent leave, which is taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason.

The same concerns identified in the ADA scenario, above, are also present in the context of FMLA intermittent leave. Because the 4/10 schedule puts a heavy emphasis on increased productivity via a shortened work week, absenteeism would have a greater impact.

But productivity is not the only concern. The more stress put on an organization as a result of an employee taking protected leave, the more likely it is that the employee will be subject to unlawful retaliation. Supervisors who are unfamiliar with the anti-retaliation provisions of the FMLA may be more likely to terminate, or take other adverse action against an employee who is on
protected leave.

The National Labor Relations Act

The National Labor Relations Act (“NLRB”), is the statute that governs union activity. As the NLRB has been interpreted, a change in work schedules is a mandatory subject of bargaining. In other words, employers in the unionized workplace may not unilaterally institute a four-day work week policy. Instead, the union would have to consent to such a change. This, of course, could trigger negotiations on other, unrelated issues. 

The Fair Labor Standards Act

The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), controls the way in which regular wages are determined. The FLSA mandates the minimum wage, for example. It also provides the standards for what constitutes overtime hours and how overtime rates are calculated. It regulates what pay records employers must maintain and for how long.

Finally, the FLSA is the law that governs child labor.  The FLSA imposes limits on the hours that a minor under 16 can work. Parallel state laws often impose stricter limits—regulating which hours, the total number of hours, and the maximum number of consecutive hours that a minor may be permitted to work. The U.S. Department of Labor provides a link to each state’s child-labor laws. Be sure to check every state in which you may employ children under 18 so that you are in compliance with those state’s laws, as well as the FLSA. (http://www.youthrules.dol.gov/states.htm)

Some of the most misunderstood provisions of the FLSA are the overtime regulations. According to federal law, employers must pay non-exempt employees at one and one-half times the regular rate of pay whenever the employee works any hours in excess of 40 during the work week. Federal overtime law does not require premium pay for time worked in excess of 8 hours per day.
It is common practice in many industries, though, to pay overtime (or even double time) to employees who work a shift longer than the standard 8 hours.

How these industries would handle a compressed work week is unclear. It seems highly unlikely that those employers will continue to pay a premium rate for what would be standard time. As a result, employees who have come to rely on the extra income may resist making the change. Would the drop in pay drive the employees to look for work with another organization?

In a few states, including Alaska, California, Colorado, and Nevada, employers are required to pay an overtime rate based on the number of hours worked per day, as opposed to per week. So, in Alaska, employers who implement a compressed work week will be required to pay employees two hours per day, or eight hours per work week at time and one-half of their normal hourly rate.  Calculated over the period of a year, this means that employers would be paying for approximately 400 hours per employee for time that was not actually worked.

Special Considerations in California

California employers face additional obstacles. In accordance with the California Labor Code,  employees who work 10 hours or more per day in a 40-hour work week must be compensated at their overtime rate. To implement an alternative work schedule, employers must comply with some onerous requirements.

The plan must be described in a written notice that must be provided to the affected work unit. A meeting must be held where the employees are given the opportunity to discuss the proposal. Then, a secret-ballot election is held no fewer than 14 days after the meeting. More than two-thirds of the work unit must vote to approve the schedule.

The employer has 30 days to report the results to the state Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. In addition, workers cannot be required to work the new schedule for another 30 days. During these forty-four (or more) days, there can be work stoppages and other disruptions to the workplace as the focus turns to the proposed change in schedules.

Employers are going green.  Employees are compressing their work weeks and saving gas.  And now, one major U.S. city is mandating employers provide "commuter benefits" to employees.  Will this prompt more employers to adopt a four-day workweek? 

Some key features of the new ordinance: 

Beginning 120 days after August 22, 2008 [December 22, 2008], San Francisco employers with 20 or more employees must provide commuter benefits to employees who work at least 10 hours of work per workweek within the geographic boundaries of San Francisco. This includes offering employees at least one of the following transportation benefits:

1. A pre-tax election of a maximum of $110 per month, consistent with current federal law; or
2. An employer-provided transportation pass (or provide reimbursement for) equal in value of $45 (or more) per month; or
3. Employer provided transportation at no cost to employees.

Is this a prediction of things to come?  If employers are required to pay employees up to $110 per month for the costs of commuting, I'd say that the four-day work week movement would likely explode.  One of the big motivators of the four-day work week has been the high cost of fuel. Employers claim that the compressed workweek will help alleviate the cost of gasoline for employees. 

[H/T to California's favorite HR blogger, HR Lori]

For more on the Four-Day Work Week, the pros and cons, various alternatives, and considerations for implementation, see:

1. Feds Take a Cue from the States and Consider the 4-Day Workweek
2. 35 Questions You Should Ask When Drafting a Compressed Work Week Policy
3. Positive Benefits of a Four-Day Work Week
4. 5 Steps Toward a More Flexible Workplace
5. Should a Four-Day Work Week Be Mandatory*
6. It's Saturday Today in Utah: 4 Day Work Week
7. Alternatives to the Four Day Work Week
8. Popularity of the 4-day Week Continues to Grow
9. Will Four-Day School Week Push the Four-Day Work Week Trend?
10. Utah's Mandatory 4-Day Work Week Will Save the World. Sort of.
11. Alternative Work Arrangement May Soon Become Mandatory
12. I Hate To Say "I Told You So"–The 4-Day Workweek Is a Hot Topic
13. How the Current Economy Could Affect the Future of Flextime
14. New Employer & Workplace Study on Flexible Schedules 
15. The Pros and Cons of a 4-Day Workweek: Cons 
16. New Survey on Workplace Lateness Supports Flextime Initiatives?

15% of workers say they are late to work at least once a week and nearly 25% lie about the reasons why.  According to a new CareerBuilder.com survey, 2008 Late to Work Survey, 43% of managers say they don't mind if employees are late as long as their work is finished on time and done well.  Other managers, though, reported that they would consider terminating an employee who arrived late several times a year. 

When asked about the reasons for their tardiness, traffic was far and away the most common excuse, reported by more than 32% of employees surveyed.   17% reported that they had fallen back asleep and 7% pointed to a long commute.  27% of managers didn't buy it, saying they were skeptical of the excuses.

In light of these statistics, is there a case to be made for flexible-hour initiatives?  Obviously, certain jobs require adherence to a specific schedule and do not allow for employees to come and go as they please.  Customer satisfaction, for example, would not benefit from a customer-service department where the phones went unmanned because employees decided to arrive later in the morning.  But other jobs can be performed successfully with flexible hours.  As the saying goes, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"  Is there some validity to that phrase in this context?

A lot of employees are big fans of the 4-day workweek. Four, ten-hour days to replace the normal 9-to-5 schedule we’ve all come know as “standard.” It’s a popular idea and it’s catching on like crazy, especially in the public sector. But there are two sides to every story, right? Earlier this week I discussed the pros, so now it’s time to look at the cons. Some of the ideas below were sent to me by readers who feel strongly that a four-day week is a bad thing. And just to show that they’re not alone, even Forbes recently ran an article called, Why the Four Day Work Week Doesn’t Work.

So, what’s not to love about a 4/10 compressed schedule?

Where should I start?

1. Decreased Productivity. Many people find it difficult to stay focused for eight hours. Adding two more hours may not result in any more work at all. Or, the work that is performed may be performed inefficiently or with errors.

2. Wrong Perspective. Author Cali Ressler says that this is the wrong approach to work. Instead of continuing to focus on the amount of time we spend doing work, she advocates that employers start to look at the results of the time we spend doing work. In a results-oriented approach, like the one she helped implement at Best Buy, how long employees is irrelevant as long as they get the work completed.

3. No Fuel Savings. Employees will still be driving on the fifth day—just not to work. Although they won’t be spending gas money on the commute, they will still have to fill the tank to run errands and make other trips that they didn’t do after their long workday.

4. Access to Child Care. Because the four-day workweek is new to many, childcare providers are not likely to change their business hours. Extended time at daycare means extended costs—often at a premium. This additional cost offsets the purported fuel savings.

5. Decreased Family Time. In reality, after a ten-hour work day, many people find that they are too tired for a family game night, or to attend a sports event. Remember, it’s not just 10 hours of work, by the time you figure in wake-up time and day-care drop-off in the morning and pick-up at night, employees will have been going strong for more than 13 hours, and that’s before anyone eats dinner. The result is a Friday packed with the errands and activities that were not accomplished after work and not much additional family time at all.

6. Decreased Morale. Long hours lead to fatigue, which leads to decreased morale. Long days spent in the office with colleagues with whom they may or may not get along can cause additional tension.

7. Day 5. When the nature of work requires employees to be accountable to clients or customers who do not work a four-day week, it may be unrealistic to think that their demands will not require attention on Fridays. Instead of a compressed schedule, employees may find that they’re working an extended schedule.

8. More Micro-Management. In order to reap the benefits of a compressed schedule, the typical workday slacking must be eliminated. Down-time for internet browsing and extra breaks have a greater impact and will require managers to become more involved on the ground level to ensure these time-wasters do not occur.

Employers who may be considering offering flexible work arrangements to employees should do their homework before selecting which type of program (or programs) to offer. We’ve previously discussed the various types of flex-time options.  

But once you know what’s out there, you should be sure you also understand how each option may or may not maximize your return on investment. Look to the benefits of each type to determine whether those are results that satisfy some need in your organization. Although each one provides benefits in one form or another, they simply may not be benefits from where you’re standing.

Here are a few benefits for each of the major types of flexible work arrangements. Use these as the starting point to determine whether each one may be of interest to your company.

Flextime

· Improve efficiency if schedules are linked directly to correspond with employees’ most productive times.

· Gives employees more control over scheduling personal responsibilities at either the beginning or end of the workday

· Avoid rush-hour commuting—a quality-of-life and an environmental benefit.

Compressed Workweek

· Improves productivity if some work can be accomplished during quieter times of the day

· Provides more days off

· Decreases the number of days employees commute, including the time and costs inherent to the commute.

· Avoid rush-hour commuting.

Part-Time Work

· Retains employees who need time off for personal or family reasons.

· Expands the labor pool to include retirees, students, and persons with disabilities.

· Gives employees time for education purposes, such as working towards a degree, or other similar, personal-improvement objectives.

· Provides for an option for the gradual return to work after maternity leave or other absences.

· Allows gradual entry into retirement, and, in turn, improved transfer of knowledge through succession planning.

Job Sharing

· The same benefits as those experienced as a result of part-time schedules.

· Brings broader range of knowledge and skills t a position.

· Provides cross-training and skill-enhancement, and facilitates knowledge sharing.

· Enables continuity of coverage when one partner is sick or otherwise unavailable.

· Continuous implementation of team-based efforts fosters a sense of unity and cooperation

Telecommuting

· Offers alternative to relocation

· Expands recruitment pool geographically

· Reduces office space and associated overhead costs
Can accommodate persons with disabilities.

· Decreases or eliminates commuting time.

· Increases productivity by enabling employees to work at their most productive time.

· Decreases the number of days employees commute, including the time and costs inherent to the commute

· Decreases other employee expenses, such as meals and clothing.

Is the federal government the next to implement a four-day work week? Maybe. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) wants the idea to be considered, anyway. He’s asked the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to "undertake comprehensive analysis of the transitioning to a 4-day work week for all possible federal employees and inform me by August 31, of any additional actions Congress would need to take to implement such a policy by the end of fiscal year 2008."

Presumably, the idea would be to switch to a mandatory four-day week, like the Utah example. Federal agencies already have the discretion to implement a compressed schedule agency-wide or on a case-by-case basis. The Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of 1982 (the F&CWS law), authorizes a “versatile and innovative work scheduling program for use in the Federal Government.”

The OPF previously recognized the value of alternative schedules as a way to attract and retain federal employees. In “Negotiating Flexible and Compressed Schedules,” the OPM concluded that alternative schedules will be an important part of the government’s future staffing efforts:

By all accounts, the workforce of tomorrow will be older, more culturally and ethnically diverse, and will consist of more female workers than ever. This diversity will require the Federal Government to utilize new and innovative approaches toward managing human resources and delivering services. To succeed, the Government must successfully compete for skilled workers; and it must be able retain them by providing challenging job opportunities and the flexibility to accommodate family responsibilities and other activities outside work. Flexible and compressed work schedules that are carefully planned and implemented can help make the Government more successful in its recruitment efforts, and more competitive and efficient in the bargaining should be undertaken with the goal of establishing flexible and compressed work schedules that support work and family programs, encourage the participation of employees and management, and also set up administrative controls necessary for the efficient operation of the agency and the success of the established work schedule.

August 31^st is just around the corner so we’ll have to wait to see what the OPM concludes in response to Hoyer’s inquiry. In the meantime, catch up on the four-day workweek trend.

The current rage in the public sector is the four-day work week. The idea of a compressed work week has caught on in cities and towns across the country and, for now, in one state (Utah), though it’s not hard to imagine that other states will follow in the future. The private sector has not been as enthusiastic about the idea, or at least so quick to act. 

There are some fundamental questions to consider before deciding to convert to a compressed-schedule workweek. Executive management will want to know the answers to these questions, as well, so it’s best to consider them in advance. If you feel comfortable with each of the issues below, then you are likely able to sufficiently design a workable policy.

Defining Purpose

What is the purpose of offering a compressed workweek? Is it because of the organization’s emphasis on work-life balance? To help employees bear the increased burden of the costly commute? Is the focus on the reduction of energy consumption and the desire to reduce the company’s carbon footprint? Or is it an innovative approach to increased productivity and efficiency?

Outlining the Scope

What is the basic offering of the program? In other words, what is a “compressed workweek”? Currently, the four-day, ten-hour-per-day option is most popular. But that’s not the only option. There is the 3-day, 12-hours-per-day option, or the 80-hour-per-9-days alternative.

Also, is this a trial program intended to last on a temporary or probationary basis? Or is this the “real deal,” intended to be a long-lasting option for future employees?

Determining Eligibility

Who is eligible to apply for a compressed workweek schedule? Is the option available to full-time and part-time employees? Is there a minimum length of employment that must be completed before the option becomes available? All job positions and pay grades? All facilities or only certain facilities? Is there a limited number of persons per unit or department that will be permitted to switch to a compressed schedule, after which, no requests will be granted? Can employees combine a compressed workweek with other flexible arrangements, such as telecommuting or job-sharing?

Submitting a Request

How should an employee go about making a request for a compressed workweek? (See 5 Steps Toward a More Flexible Workplace for details on ways to make the request-submission process most effective). How will requests be considered? Is there any preferential consideration given to employees with more seniority, for example? Or with the best performance evaluations? What factors might prevent an otherwise eligible employee’s request from being granted? Operational factors? Workload? Performance history?

Impact on Compensation and Benefits

How will holidays be compensated when they fall on the employees’ normally scheduled day off? If a holiday falls on a normally scheduled workday, will the employee be paid for 8 hours or 10?

Terminating the Program

What if an employee desires to return to a “traditional” schedule? Is there a process that must be followed? Is this considered a request for permission or is it awarded as a matter of right without any “permission” being awarded? How much notice will be required? And what if the employer needs to terminate the program? What are the conditions that could cause this to occur?

Reviewing the Success of the Program

How often will the program be reviewed? Will it be reviewed on a company-wide basis or just on an individual level? Will the employee be involved in the review process? What about the employee’s team members? What factors will be considered?

Previous Posts on Alternative Schedules and Compressed Work Weeks

Should a Four-Day Work Week Be Mandatory*

It's Saturday Today in Utah: 4 Day Work Week

Alternatives to the Four Day Work Week

Popularity of the 4-day Week Continues to Grow

Will Four-Day School Week Push the Four-Day Work Week Trend?

Utah's Mandatory 4-Day Work Week Will Save the World. Sort of.

I Hate To Say "I Told You So"–The 4-Day Workweek Is a Hot Topic

The four-day work week continues its winning streak. Counties, towns, and cities across the nation are considering switching to the compressed-week schedule, that is, if they haven’t implemented it already. (See Popularity of the 4-day Week Continues to Grow). And, as previously discussed, Utah was the first state to adopt a 4/10 workweek statewide. (See Utah's Mandatory 4-Day Work Week Will Save the World. Sort of.).  

As of yet, though, I am still on the fence. I can’t say I’m opposed to the idea. But I do have substantial doubts about the benefits of a longer workday. I also have concerns about the impact the shortened workweek will have on access to public services—especially by those who are in the most serious need of that access.

But, all of those questions aside, I can’t help but recognize the enthusiasm some have expressed at the idea of a Friday-free workweek. (Hopefully I’ll be a bit more firm in my opinion by September 16, 2008, when I’ll be presenting an audioconference with Rex L. Facer, Plan & Implement Your 4-day Work Week). For employers who are not quite convinced that a four-day workweek is a magic cure-all, it may be helpful to review some of the positive benefits that are said to result from the shortened work week. Here are of the “pros” from my Pros and Cons List on the topic. These might give you a start in evaluating whether such a program is a good fit for your workplace.

1. Reduced fuel costs. Employees would have to endure the dreaded commute one less day each week, thereby saving money at the pump with reduced fuel consumption.
2. Decreased absenteeism. On a five-day schedule, employees are forced to cram their two days off with personal errands, chores, soccer games, and social outings. By the time Monday comes around, there hasn’t been a minute of rest and employees are just plum beat. So they call out of work. This wouldn’t happen so frequently if employees had a third day to accomplish the work they have to do outside of work.
3. Increased productivity. It’s a well-established principle of productivity that workers become less efficient where no deadline looms. That’s why we’re more efficient in the week before vacation—we know we have to get it done by the time we leave. The same idea is transferable to a shortened workweek. Employees are least productive on Fridays so why not just eliminate them altogether?
4. Improved job satisfaction and morale. Satisfaction with what goes on in the workplace may be tied to what goes on outside of the workplace. Employees who spend more time with family and friends, who have the flexibility of three days off, will return to work refreshed, and generally less host