Experts Cite Drawbacks to Popular Four-Day Week

By Susan Kim, STAFF WRITER

Despite a tide of recent public accolades, the four-day work week simply isn't a realistic option for the large majority of small businesses, said economists.
It's a sweet perk that can boost employee retention, but it won't work for most small businesses, said Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of the Sage Policy Group.
Employees who choose the compressed schedule work four 10-hour days in exchange for an extra day off each week.
"The emergence of the four-day work week in America advantages larger employers," Basu said. "Most small businesses cannot afford to have a substantial portion of workforce gone on any given day. This would create severe logistical difficulties. For firms that have thousands of employees, this isn't difficult, logistically."
Howard County qualifies as an entity with thousands of employees. It began offering 1,400 of its 2,600 workers a compressed schedule option beginning in July.
Eligible employees were encouraged to consider working four 10-hour days, or a two-week period of eight nine-hour days and one eight-hour day, to cut back on commuting costs.

Not For Everyone
Although the four-day work week is generally very popular among employees, it's not for everyone.
Alex King, an executive assistant in Howard County's public relations office, said, at this time in her life, she'd rather work five days with regular hours.
"Right now I'm in grad school, so would I go to work for 10 hours a day, then go straight to class and sit in a lecture for three hours? No. My brain would not function at all."
King, who is earning an MBA from Loyola College, admitted that she would jump at the chance for a four-day week if she wasn't plowing her way through night school. "But right now, no," she said. "My life would be work, class and sleep. You almost feel like your life is just passing you by."
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman developed the four-day work week plan to help employees save on gas costs and conserve energy.
This reasoning is shared by officials in Baltimore and Montgomery counties, both of which have offered the four-day option for several years.
Dr. David Ozag, a CPA who serves as an associate adjunct professor at University of Maryland University College, questioned whether anyone has been able to accurately tally the gas savings figure.
"This summer, the City of Birmingham, Ala., allowed approximately 2,400 city employees to work four-day work weeks," he said. "Part of the city's leadership's argument for the change was an estimated gas savings of $1 million."
That's a significant savings, if the $1 million figure is true, said Ozag.
"What seems to be missing in the analysis, though, is the answer to: What do the employees do on their extra day off?"
Unless all 2,400 workers in Birmingham stayed home or did not use their cars on their day off, the savings figure could be inflated, Ozag said.

Workers Love It
Savings or not, most workers enjoy the opportunity to opt for flexible schedules and that extra day off.
Helen Worth, who works in the public affairs office at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (APL), said she works nine hours each day, then gets every other Friday off.
"Some people work 10 hours a day and get every Friday off," she said.
Worth believes the policy works at APL because the flexible schedule is tailored to the individual's type of work. "It depends on the work they do, and it depends on whether the supervisors think a compressed work schedule would interfere with what needs to be done."
While Ozag questions the economic effect, he agreed that the four-day week often creates happier employees. "The four-day work week employees report greater job satisfaction, and greater satisfaction with compensation and benefits," he said.

Spreading Like Wildfire
Howard County's Economic Development Authority will begin offering flexible work schedules as well, said CEO Dick Story, though not necessarily in the form of a four-day work week.
Story questioned whether the four-day work week is as perfect as it seems. "When people want to work 10-hour days, I question how much they can do from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.," said Story. "It also becomes a challenge to manage a small organization. How many people can you afford to have off?"
For some employees, teleworking - which Story believes is a more apt name than telecommuting - could be the answer.
The key, concluded Basu, is to keep the four-day week optional and not mandatory. "A mandatory four-day week would cause a lot of hardship for certain people," he said. "For those parents that have 11 to 12 hours of daycare, it may be a fine thing. But that kind of extended daycare can be very expensive."
Ultimately, Basu believes companies should offer a four-day week if they're able to swing it. "Employers who can afford to, should offer it," he said. "I'm presuming this will spread like wildfire."