How We Do It: Aug. 2001, Implementing a Four-Day Workweek at Phillips

Shortly after we started the company, we had a problem – hourly employees were working 10-hour days, five days a week, and overtime pay became a significant issue. The employees put in their time, and some were using overtime to finish ahead of schedule so they could take Friday off. This increased employee absences.

To resolve this issue, we devised a plan to get a 40-hour workweek out of our crews with a hook or two to make it advantageous for both the company and its workers. It occurred to us that workers might respond to 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, because of the obvious benefit of having a three-day weekend.

A little more research provided some revealing side benefits as well. Since the summer peak season is the hot season, especially in Florida, employees had an extra day to recover from the exposure to heat and humidity common during this time of year. And the three-day weekend provided a cushion of sorts in case the weather didn’t cooperate and we got behind on our work.

The benefits of going to four days just added up. We couldn’t find anything negative about it. The employees jumped on it, and they have responded by working harder and enjoying their work much more. Whenever we do have to work on a Friday or Saturday to catch up for some reason, employees understand – before this took their weekends away entirely. The only employees who normally work Monday through Friday are account managers, landscape architects, office staff and mechanics.

Also, this workweek change improved our client image. The way we come across to our clients is important to us. We don’t really need to discuss our program with our maintenance customers, but we have noticed clients say their service has improved since we have gone to four-day workweeks. This is evident to them in the improved attitude of our workers to the quality of the job performed. That’s significant, because we can’t afford to lose clients, just as we can’t afford to lose good employees.

Since instituting the four-day workweek, we have had an almost zero turnover ratio. When we do advertise an opening, the applications are many, giving the company a choice of the cream of the crop. With a full benefits package, competitive pay and, now, a four-day workweek, our employment ads really stand out. Right now, we’re the only landscape design/build/maintenance company that has a four-day workweek in this area, as far as we know, and that gives us a competitive advantage in attracting top-notch employees.

No additional manpower was needed to switch to the four-day week, and, in fact, there were no start-up costs – just start-up savings due to less overtime – approximately 80 percent. The only disadvantage to the program is that when employees occasionally are needed on Friday, there is never a 100 percent turnout. When an employee has already made plans for the weekend, sometimes they just can’t be changed at the last minute. To us, that’s a small price to pay for the super work environment we have created here, and we can understand how that is going to happen. All in all, our employees have taken to the four-day workweek, and it is working great for them and for the company.