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I find this article interesting. except for one thing, most government employees or services are viewed as inefficient. Working 10 hour days won't help that. But it should save a bundle of cash. In the private sector, It would be difficult for any company that has a 24 hour operation which normally has 3 shifts of workers to implement this. The only thing that would make it feasible, is to modify overtime laws on the books so companies that can implement it could do so without losing additional revenue. In theory, I said in therory, it could work.
My question is what will people do with all that extra time on thier hands?
Utah Pioneering Four-Day Work Week
The state of Utah is leading the way in adopting a four-day workweek, which may become more widespread as the United States seeks to reduce energy consumption.
Since August 2008, all government employees in Utah have been working 10 hours a day, Monday through Thursday, with Friday off. That leaves government buildings vacant on Fridays, with no lights, elevators or computers in use.
"Electric bills have dropped even further during the summer, thanks to less air conditioning," Scientific American reported.
"Friday's midday hours have been replaced by cooler mornings and evenings on Monday through Thursday."
By May, the state had already saved nearly $2 million in energy costs, and Utah projected that it would see a drop of at least 6,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over the course of a year.
When reductions in greenhouse gases from the loss of one day's commuting are included, the drop would be at least 12,000 tons — the equivalent of taking 2,300 cars off the road for a year.
El Paso, Texas, is among the U.S. cities also experimenting with a four-day workweek, adopting the Fridays-off schedule in June.
If the four-day workweek were adopted across the country, the elimination of one workday's commuting would lower U.S. oil imports by 5 percent to 10 percent, The New Republic reported, and help workers save money on gas.
The Utah program is popular with state workers, too — 82 percent say they want to keep the four-day workweek, according to a survey by Brigham Young University's Lori Wadsworth. Workers say they enjoy less stress, need fewer sick days, and spend more time with their families.