4 Day Work Week

Downtown Seattle Traffic
Originally uploaded by bwendy3

Would you be willing work 4 ten hour days? This is a proposal made by King 5 yesterday. I found it intriguing and thought about the pros and cons today.

Here is the Seattle area we have some of the nation's worst traffic congestion problems. A 4 day work week, if employers varied which days employees worked, might actually help some of the congestion problem, and cut down on pollution as well. Employees would save money by only having to commute 4 out of 5 days. Of course working a ten hour day would be grueling, but I suppose one could get use to it.

Another advantage would be to families with children. Parents who put their kids in day care would save by only having to pay for 4 days rather than 5. For those with more than one child, the savings would really add up over a one year period. Parents would also have more quality time to spend with their children. The downside of course for working couples would be the 10 hour days, which might cause more problems in working out after school schedules than it is worth.

All in all, I think the pros out weight the cons. I think King 5 brought up a good idea that other citiies in the country are putting to a test. Would you change your work schedule to help the environment?