Fewer days, longer hours
Employers weigh savings from short workweek against need to provide service
So far, it seems to be working in Winchester. But the four-day workweek probably wouldn't pan out for Chapman Construction/Design in Newton.
"In our line of business, we tend to have a lot of project managers going out to job sites, so the idea of not being available for a day would not work," said Alexandra Swan, Chapman's director of marketing.
The shorter week, which some New England employers are exchanging for longer workdays, is being touted as the latest way to go green and lower energy costs. But while the trend seems to be catching on with government agencies, adoption by the corporate world is lagging.
The idea is meant to save money by allowing employers to conserve power - and even shut down operations completely - for extended periods. No workers means no need for air conditioning, lights, electronics, or machinery. That, in turn, should translate into less energy-related overhead and a reduced carbon footprint.
Employees who drive to work also benefit by saving a round-trip's worth of gas every week.
It's already happening in Sudbury, Winchester, and Concord, N.H., where those municipalities recently started some employees on trial four-day workweeks. Both Newburyport and Westport are considering the option.
Rex L. Facer, an assistant professor of public finance and management at Brigham Young University, has been studying four-day workweeks since 2004, and now believes that a sixth of US cities are on a four-day, 10-hour shift schedule.
"They've found that by only being open four days a week they can save substantial amounts on the utility costs: on heating, lighting their buildings," Facer said.
But in the private sector, many business owners regard the four-day week as unworkable.
Jennie Cudmore, owner of the "organic and natural" Crunchy Granola Baby store in Salem, said she was intrigued by the idea of a four-day workweek. But, she added, she didn't immediately think implementing one would be good for a business whose customers expect it to be open seven days.
Stephen Silverstein, founder and chief executive of Not Your Average Joe's restaurants, which is based in Middleborough, said that while his administrative employees could probably work a shorter week, a compressed schedule wouldn't make sense on the restaurant side.
"We actually tried, last winter, to close [a location] in Newburyport on Mondays, and the theory is that you will save money and people who would come on Mondays will just come another day. It really doesn't work that way," Silverstein said. "If you do that, you give your money to somebody else."
Where the four-day workweek has caught on in the private sector, it's often been for nongreen reasons. Companies in highly competitive industries have long experimented with four-day workweeks, and other scheduling alternatives, primarily as a way to attract and retain employees who need to coordinate work and family obligations.
"People have complicated lives outside of work, so flex time is a selling point," said Thierry Guedj, a psychology professor and the associate director of the Faculty and Staff Assistance Office at Boston University.
Four-day workweeks are old hat for 6,000 employees at BAE Systems Electronics and Integrated Solutions, a defense and aerospace company with offices in Lexington and Nashua. They've been on a compressed workweek that gives them every other Friday off since 1997.
"We started doing this as just a way to help our employees balance their work and family life," said Bob Paul, the company's director of employee relations, ethics, and business conduct. "And now the benefit is it really helps with the energy crisis."
Still, Paul said, despite the environmental benefits, not every business model is conducive to giving employees a shorter workweek.
"I think it's a very worthwhile exercise to look at, depending on the business and the industry. I think the first thing the company needs to look at is their customers," Paul said. "Is it feasible and acceptable to the customers?"
Ultimately, the potential energy savings may win over the private sector. The rising cost of gasoline was a motivating factor for Concord, N.H., which is experimenting with a four-day workweek, said Chip Chesley, the director of the city's General Services Department.
"The catalyst that made us scratch our heads and take a look at it was the escalating price of fuel," he said. "We are going to meet at the end of the fall season to see how it works."
On a recent Thursday, one of Concord's sewer crews was just finishing a repair job at 4 p.m., past the time when they would usually clock out if working a five-day week. The workers said the longer days, which affect 55 employees on highway and utility crews, let them take care of big jobs all at once, rather than having to send a crew back to finish something up. Still, the change means rearranging some of their personal schedules.
"It's a bit of an adjustment," said Bob Demers, a utility technician. "Usually, I'd get home and I'd cut my grass or something, but now it's not that there's no time but now I find myself starting dinner for the wife."
Significantly, EMC Corp., a Hopkinton-based data storage company with 9,000 employees in Massachusetts, this year began experimenting with several flexible work arrangements for mainly nongreen reasons. But fuel costs have recently entered the equation.
"We want to help employees effectively balance the needs and interests in their personal lives with their work commitments," said company spokeswoman Lesley Ogrodnick. "I definitely would say, like everyone, we are concerned about gas prices and how they are affecting our employees, and it is part of the discussion."
Erin Ailworth can be reached at eailworth@globe.com. 