The Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution, initiated by County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, to approve a four-day/40-hour per week work program for employees. This will save them 20% on commute costs and ease the financial pinch of filling up their gas tanks.
Slow-growing revenues and rising healthcare costs have forced the County to cut back on pay increases for hard-working employees, while at the same time asking them to assume more of their healthcare costs, including higher co-pays. The 4/40 Program, along with other cost-savings activities, have been introduced to help employees save money by helping them mitigate some of the out-of-pocket expenses they must deal with every day, such as gas.
The structure of the revised work schedule is determined on a department-by-department basis. County offices continue to be staffed Monday through Friday, which means days off are staggered to ensure that services to the public are adequately maintained.
Statistics:
- Total Participants - 431
- Estimated Weekly Gas Savings - $2,243
- Estimated Annual Gas Savings - $116,677
Estimates based on a $2.60 per gallon price average. Average gas savings is estimated at two gallons per week, per person. Amounts are calculated as of December 14, 2009.
See also: 4/40 Work Program Expands
An article from the Oakland County Telegraph, a quarterly employee newsletter.
OTHER 4/40 WORK WEEK RESOURCES:
Most state workers in Utah shifting to 4-day week (USA Today, July 1, 2008)
"Utah this summer will become what experts say is the first state to institute a mandatory four-day work week for most state employees, joining local governments across the nation that are altering schedules to save money, energy and resources..."
The Four Day Work Week: Sixteen Reasons Why This Might Be an Idea Whose Time Has Come (The Oil Drum, September 1, 2007)
"The notion of our standard work week here in America has remained largely the same since 1938. That was the year the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed, standardizing the eight hour work day and the 40 hour work week..."
Is A Four-Day Work Week Good For Business? (Forbes Magazine, June 26, 2008)
"According to a May study of 100 human-resources executives by Chicago-based consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 57% are currently offering some type of program to help employees cope with painful commuting costs fueled by $4 gas..."