Benefits June 13, 2008

MI County Adopts Four-Day Work Schedule to Save Gas

June 13, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A Michigan county has approved a four-day work week to help county employees save on gas costs by cutting down on their office commute.
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A Michigan Business Review news account said Oakland County commissioners unanimously backed the proposal byCounty Executive L. Brooks Patterson who said the initiative could be in place by next week.The new work week will be staggered, with some working Monday to Thursday and others on an alternate schedule to keep county offices fully staffed.

Patterson said he believes the reduced work week would save workers about two gallons of gas per week. With gas expected to stay at about $4 per gallon,”That’s $42 million dollars a year,” he said, according to the news report. “That’s significant savings.”

“I knew it had pretty wide support,” Patterson said of the 25-0 vote. “I talked to various commissioners. It was warmly embraced by the board and the commissioners.”

Patterson indicated he expects between 1,000 and 1,500 county employees to join the county’s program and has begun discussions with local private-sector employers to set up a similar plan.

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“We’re inviting the private sector, too,” he told the Michigan Business Review. “Oakland County has 740,000 jobs, so hopefully we can combine and get as much as 100,000 people.”

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