Several American economists have proposed that the workweek should last only four days, Monday through Thursday, with 10 hours of work per day . In this way, they argue, it would be possible to increase efficiency and reduce expenses for both public administrations and companies.
In the state of Utah (USA) they have taken another step and have already put it to the test. And they have shown that if the weekend lasted three days, stopping the lights in public offices, not using computers and elevators on Fridays, and saving on air conditioning and heating every Friday could cut Utah's expenses by several million dollars every month. The environment would also benefit because "employees would spend 20% less time a week on the road," says John Langmaid, editor of the Connecticut Law Review magazine and a leading proponent of this measure. And furthermore, population surveys have confirmed that 82% of Americans would be in favor of this change in work habits . On the other hand, Brigham Young University studies coordinated by researcher Lori Wadsworth suggest that the measure would increase worker performance.
