Spokesman-Review Letters to the editor
Adopt more efficient workweek
Time has come for the four-day week. Moving from a 5/8 to a 4/10 standard would eliminate fuel consumption and pollution from one commuting/school day, would reduce energy consumption for cooling and heating of buildings, and would add a third day to the weekend for family and community time.
The elimination of one day's wasted transition times (the 15-30 minutes surrounding arriving and leaving work/school and lunchtime, when people are "getting ready to work" or "getting ready to leave") could potentially mean 1-2 hours more production time per week. Schools might use the fifth day to offer additional learning or arts opportunities, community service activities, or some of the sports and social activities cut in recent years.
The choice of five eight-hour days, set in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, was arbitrary anyway. Just as the nation adjusted once before from working six and seven days per week to the five-day week, we can change again. Many businesses, schools, and even the government of Utah have already changed to four-day schedules. If all institutions and businesses follow suit, we will survive, and soon the four-day week will feel like the natural way to be.
Jessica L. Mouser
Otis Orchards
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