Four-Day Work Weeks Help Employees Save
To cut commute costs, Birmingham, Ala., city employees will work four-day weeks.
July 1, 2007— -- Three-day weekends were once considered a luxury, but they've now become a necessity for a growing number of workers across the country.
Employees, pinched by gas prices, are now pleading with their bosses for help.
John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a work outplacement consulting firm, told ABC News the economics behind the four-day week phenomenon are very real.
"It's much more expensive to get to work, and employees want answers from their employers," Challenger said. "How are they going to help them fix it?"
Kim Noah, a graphics designer at Innovative Solutions in Aiken, S.C., asked her employers that very question, to remedy the rising cost of commuting to work.
Innovative Solutions co-owners Debbie Renew and RaeLeigh Warner, devised a four-day work week, which they put into effect on June 1. Employees work four days a week, but 10 hours a day, instead of the typical eight, to compensate for the lost day of work.
By eliminating one day of commuting, Renew and Warner can offer significant relief for their employees in times of financial hardship.
Noah, like many struggling Americans, spends more and more of her salary on gas. It cost $81 a week for Noah to fill up the tank of her Ford Expedition. Her commute is typically 10 to 15 minutes, each way, depending on traffic.
"I'm seeing at least $20 to $30, just in a week's time, in savings," said Noah, who stays in her house on that day off, to conserve gas money.
Not only does she save on gas, but she also has one fewer day per week to cover day care costs, which racks up $20 in savings each week.
All of these savings add up. With a recent report predicting that gas prices could increase to $7 a gallon in the United States within two years, the four-day work week may offer a solution.
That's why many companies across the country are following suit. A new survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas of 100 medium and large businesses found that 57 percent now offer some sort of employee relief to help them cope with the tough economic circumstances.
