Beth Braccio Hering,
If your employer offered the opportunity to work four 10-hour
days per week instead of a traditional five 8-hour-day workweek, would
you take it?
Teresa Allen, a customer service representative for
American Fidelity Assurance Co. in Oklahoma City, did take it and is
pleased with her decision.
"I love the arrangement of the
four-day workweek. I like getting to the office as early as I do, 6:30
a.m. The morning is my most productive time of the day, the phones are
off until 8:00 a.m. and the office is very quiet. I enjoy having
Wednesdays off and can focus on spending time with family and
maintaining a home. It helps me with balancing stresses of being a
family provider and full-time employee."
Allen is not alone in her
sentiments. From employees able to save a day of child-care costs to
employers pleased to have extended hours of office coverage, the system
can be win-win. In Utah, where a four-day workweek became mandatory for
many state employees, energy use was reduced 13 percent during the first
year of implementation, and it is estimated that employees saved as
much as $6 million in gasoline costs by not driving into the office on
Fridays.
Considerations
"The shortened workweek
could give employees more time to handle family and personal business,
making it less likely that they would need to miss work for doctor's
visits or other personal matters. Also, a four/10 schedule gives
employees 52 extra days off each year, allowing them the freedom to do
whatever they wish on those days," says Rick Gibbs, senior human
resources specialist for Insperity, a human resources provider
headquartered in Kingwood, Texas. "In our new economy, the flexibility
and autonomy provided to employees make it an idea worth exploring."
While
the thought of a midweek break or a three-day weekend all the time may
sound alluring, the arrangement has potential shortcomings, especially
when only some employees are on the alternative schedule.
"Being
out of the office means less visibility and less access to the flow of
ideas and information," says Roy Cohen, a career coach and author of
"The Wall Street Professional's Survival Guide." "When decisions are
made, you may not be there, and the potential to be marginalized is very
real. Out of sight could literally translate into out of mind."
Other potential pitfalls include:
- Work "leaking" into the scheduled off day, such as answering emails or phone calls at home.
- Trying to find extended child care for the 10-hour days.
- Feeling drained by the longer hours.
- Diminished productivity as the 10-hour day progresses.
- Stress on co-workers to pick up the slack at the office on days a fellow employee is off.
From
an employer's perspective, Cohen notes that organizing meetings can be a
logistical challenge when different employees are off on different
days. For companies at which everyone works the same four/10 schedule,
closing the doors on a traditional business day may not go over well
with customers. "Gaps could result in disruptions to client service,
productivity and other similar issues," Gibbs says.
"Companies
should also be mindful of state wage and hour regulations, which have
fairly detailed definitions of 'workweek' for purposes of the payment of
overtime," Gibbs adds. "California, for example, requires overtime
payments after eight hours worked in a day, and the state has a process
that employers must follow to develop an alternative workweek schedule."
Wave of the future?
While
not every employer is willing or able to offer an alternative schedule,
and not every employee would want one, the popularity of having a
choice seems destined to grow.
"Flexible work options are becoming
the trend, particularly as companies look to cut costs such as overhead
and occupancy charges and to be competitive for the generations that
are looking for greater flexibility and balance in their lives," says
Xan Raskin, owner of Artixan Consulting Group, a human resources
consultancy in New York City. While acknowledging that flexible
schedules do take extra time on the employer's part to set up and
monitor, Raskin has seen firsthand as a manager the difference it makes
in employee morale and loyalty.
"The key is to set agreed-upon
ground rules, communicate expectations clearly and take action if
productivity levels drop off. Compared to the exorbitant costs of
employee turnover, if you can keep one valuable employee who otherwise
would have left, the benefits definitely outweigh the costs and risk."