Fairfax To Consider Four-Day Workweek

Fairfax County officials are weighing the merits of a four-day workweek for county employees, a move some said could reduce pollution and save money for workers as well as the government, even though it raises questions about how to maintain the quality of services.

Board of Supervisors member Gerald W. Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) yesterday proposed studying whether Fairfax should follow the lead of Utah and some other governments in adopting a workweek of four 10-hour days instead of the traditional slate of five eight-hour days.

Fairfax could save energy costs by powering down computers and heating and cooling systems one additional day a week, Hyland said. Employees could save fuel costs by commuting four days instead of five. And the county could reduce its contribution to global warming by lowering greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

"It would be a light-year change in the way we do business," Hyland said. "But these are not normal times in terms of the budget challenges we face, which is why I would ask us to even consider this."

With tax revenue falling, the county is facing a potential budget shortfall of $350 million the next fiscal year. Even so, the cost savings of a shorter workweek should be weighed against the need to maintain access to key services, especially public safety and social services, Hyland said.

Arlington County officials are considering similar steps. Montgomery County officials debated giving employees unpaid time off around the holidays, but the proposal did not gain traction.

Late last month, Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. (R) announced that 17,000 state employees would move to a four-day week this summer, with each day lasting from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cash-strapped governments across the country are considering following suit as energy prices rise, said Jacqueline Byers, director of research for the National Association of Counties.

"It happens every time there's a gas crisis," she said. "It gives the employees a little bonus, and it can save the local government a little bit of money."

The change is not always welcome, she said. In some communities, the modified schedule has become a hardship for employees who use public transportation or day care programs that end before the work day is over. Officials also have encountered resistance from residents who worry that a change in work schedules could disrupt the usual government office hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

But the shorter workweek has been embraced in some places. A Brigham Young University study of 15 cities with four-day workweek, released last month, found that city employees who work four 10-hour days reported being more productive and having fewer conflicts between work and home. A majority of workers also reported thinking that people's access to city services had improved under the modified schedule.

Fairfax officials expect to debate the issue later in the year. The county employs more than 17,500 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees.

Staff writers Michael Laris and Ann E. Marimow contributed to this report.