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Saturday, June 21, 2008
US moving towards 4-day workweek
WASHINGTON - SKYROCKETING energy costs have fuelled fresh interest in the 4-day workweek across the USA as a means to help workers as well as employers cope with the surge.>
In Birmingham, Alabama, city officials decided to implement a 4-day wk starting Jul 1for some 2,400 municipal employees and later in the yr for ard 1,000 police and firefighters.
It allow employees to work 4 10-hr days, may save US$500,000(S$683,000) to US$1 million annually in fuel costs alone for the employees, according to Apr Odom, director of communications for the mayor's office in the city of 242,000 pple.
'Our employees are very excited and ready to start today,' Ms Odom told AFP.
'Our biggest motivation was to give our employees a cost savings due to gasoline prices here. But it will also give parents an extra day with their children and save on day care costs.'
Abr 1,600km north in Maynard, Minnesota, the MACCRAY School District will start a 4-day week for the upcoming school year, saving around 1% of its budget, mainly from tpt costs.
'We were going out for tpt quotes and the difference bet the 4-day and 5-day sch wk was US$55,000,' Superintendent Greg Schmidt said.
149 sch days reduces to 172, but each day will include an extra 65 min for instruction, according to Mr Schmidt.
Gasoline costs have surged to ard US$4 a gallon in much of the USA, up some 30% fr a yr ago, according to the American Automobile Association.
The compressed 4-day week is among many options being used by employees and employers in the USA, including telecommuting and carpooling, to keep tpt costs down.
A 2007 survey by the Society of HRM found 38% of co offering a compressed workweek for some employees as part of flexible work benefits.
USA govt for yrs has allowed some employees to work a compressed schedule. Many local govts, fr Suffolk County, New York, to El Paso, Texas, are studying these options.
Survey released last mth fr consulting firm Robert Half Intl, said 44% of professionals interviewed said higher gasoline prices have affected their commutes, with many changing their work plans.
The changes include carpooling, using more fuel-efficient cars or telecommuting. 26%said they were working fewer days of the wk to trim commuting costs.
A survey by consultancy Challenger Gray & Christmas found the most popular program, utilised by 23% of co, is a condensed workweek, which typically consists of 4 10-hr days.
Mr John Challenger, CEO of the co, said the silver lining in high energy costs is that co and employees are becoming more flexible to adapt to difficult circumstances.
Employers are now focusing more on perf instead of the no of hrs worked, and employees are developing ways to cut costs and become more efficient.
'With our BlackBerrys and our technology we are always working,' he said.
With 4-day weeks, he said, 'not only do people miss the heavy commutes by being at the office earlier and later, but also we're moving to a workplace culture where ppl want long wkends,' he added.
'I don't think we're at the tipping point yet but we are seeing a breaking apart of the traditional work wk.' -- AFP
& 11:34 pm