‘Life changing’: How a cash-strapped county found success with a 32-hour workweek

By Meena Duerson, CNN

(CNN) — Last summer, Kristen and Eric Rezabek were feeling pinched. Eric was considering taking on a four-hour commute for higher paying jobs, while Kristen, who works two jobs, planned to add a full day to her already full-time work schedule to help cover their family’s expenses.

Then, their employer presented a unique offer: an extra paid day off every week, to use however they chose.

“This was definitely a solution to value our time better, which gives us more options,” Eric said.

The couple, who live with their two children on San Juan Island in Washington state, both work for San Juan County, made up of a small network of islands north of Seattle. Their union had been negotiating raises for its employees, but the county was strapped for cash and couldn’t afford to boost salaries beyond a small cost of living increase.

Instead, they agreed upon a 32-hour workweek, in which employees retain their full-time positions with benefits but can enjoy reduced hours and schedule flexibility.

“There are lots of methods to provide employee benefits,” County Manager Jessica Hudson said. “As long as you’re open to different solutions, you might find a different way of doing things that allows you to keep wonderful talented employees, even if it’s not a direct pay raise.”

The county has now completed its first full year of the new schedule and released a report on its findings Tuesday evening. San Juan County touted a host of positive outcomes — from recruiting to retention to employee happiness — and a cost savings of more than $975,000 compared to what the county would have paid if it met the union’s pay increase demands.

The county said the 32-hour workweek has attracted a host of new talent: Applications have spiked 85.5% and open positions are being filled 23.75% faster, while more employees are staying in their jobs — separation (employees quitting or retiring) dropped by 48%. And 84% of employees said their work-life balance was better.

“This is meeting many of the goals that we set out to do when we implemented it,” Hudson said, noting the county is looking for opportunities to expand the initiative.

For the Rezabeks, the schedule has eased their workload and created space for other jobs they love. Kristen, who works a second job at the local hospital, is now effectively getting paid for a six-day workweek while working only 40 hours.

“I feel so much less stress,” said Kristen. “I think it’s less burnout in so many ways. Just having that additional day has been really gratifying.”

The flexibility has also given them time to work on their small farm, for Eric to volunteer with the local fire department and to help them support their kids. They can more easily attend soccer games and events that entail traveling to other islands and would previously have required taking a vacation day.

“They get a little bit more of our time, which is pretty vital,” Kristen said. “We have two teenagers and they still need you an awful lot. It’s great to be able to be present for them and to go cheer them on.”

“Work-life balance is important,” Eric said. “Wages aren’t everything in life.”

How the 4-day workweek works

Departments across San Juan County have implemented the 32-hour workweek differently, some staggering staffing to maintain their previous availability to the public while others have shortened schedules to be open just four days a week.

“Those first six months were a little bit of culture shock trying to settle in to a new norm,” Hudson said, “but now that we’re hitting a one-year mark, while there’s still a little bit of confusion, most people are not mad. They understand that this is really a benefit for their fellow community members who want to continue to live and work in the islands. It’s kind of becoming a new normal.”

“I tell people, you’re not going to see things change from your perspective,” said Joe Ingman, a park manager in the county. “Offices are going to stay open, bathrooms are going to get cleaned, grass is going to get mowed.”

His department adjusted schedules to stay staffed seven days a week, and while communication across shifts was an initial hurdle, issues were quickly ironed out.

“It was probably the smoothest summer I’ve had, and I’ve been working in parks for over a decade,” he said, crediting the new schedule as a boon for recruiting. While job postings used to languish unfilled for months, last summer the applicant pool was not only bigger but more qualified, and the two staffers he hired both cited coming to the county because of the 32-hour workweek.

“It’s no more cost to the public to work 32 hours — but we have better applicants,” he said.

Ingman also said the four-day workweek has done wonders for his job satisfaction; he’d watched colleagues burn out for years, but now sees a path for his own future in the department.

There’s more to life than work

A former college athlete, Ingman now uses his shortened schedule to find fulfillment as a volunteer assistant high school basketball and track coach. His wife’s employer recently adopted its own 32-hour workweek — using San Juan County as a template.

The four-day schedule is what attracted Jenni Merritt, who now works in the Public Works department, to her job. A mom of three, she’d been juggling part-time positions to get the flexibility she needed before she came across her current position.

“It was one of the biggest pulls to get me to want to work here,” Merritt said. “When I saw that I had potential to get a full-time job that would offer benefits and retirement but still give me that little extra time… It was a no-brainer for me to apply at that point.”

With her extra day, Merritt works at a used bookstore, a job she calls “soul fulfilling” and which contributes a little extra to the household budget.

“To be able to save up for trips, get something for my kids, and not feel like that’s an impact on our family income, it’s been absolutely amazing for us,” she said. “To be able to have this balance now but not feel those tight strings being pulled on our wallet has been a life-changing thing for us and we’re still adjusting to it.”

“Life shouldn’t be about just working yourself into the ground,” she added.

Working smarter, not harder

When the new schedule was initially announced, social media commenters were quick to take digs at the county and its employees, arguing that if they could do their jobs in just 32 hours, they shouldn’t be paid for 40.

“We are all very used to the idea that the only way a job can get done is if you work 40 hours,” Merritt said. “We get some of that pushback, those statements like, ‘It’s not fair, you get to do your job in 32 and I have to do mine in 40.’ We are working more actively during our hours. It’s keeping us more focused and driven and working, and at the same time making us feel seen and acknowledged as humans and not just workers. We can get the work done in the 32 hours and now we have that extra time to take care of our families and ourselves and get another job if we want to.”

“I don’t think that anybody was being lazy or not accomplishing their job,” Kristen Rezabek said. “I feel recharged now on Mondays, and not quite so drained, and I am super motivated to accomplish what I need to do in that four-day workweek. I don’t think productivity was an issue before and I certainly don’t think it’s an issue now.”

“The biggest piece that we’ve done is to find ways to generate efficiencies,” Hudson said. “It’s been less about, there wasn’t enough work to do in the first place, and more about, how can we do that work better? How can we find better solutions to get the job done so that we’re making the best use of taxpayer dollars and of our employees’ time?”

In a department like Matthew Steward’s, that’s meant a focus on prioritization.

“The high priority items get done quickly, as they always have, and lower priority things maybe take a little bit longer,” he said. “Sometimes if there’s one light bulb out, out of 50, that might take a few weeks to deal with.”

County employees have used their extra time off to spend less money on childcare, volunteer in their kids’ schools, and contribute to the community – Steward spends the time as a substitute school bus driver for the short-staffed district, going on volunteer calls for the fire department, or escaping to the mountains.

While San Juan County’s motivation in adopting a shortened workweek was financial, the benefits its employees cite speak to a larger trend, as workplaces around the country increasingly explore flexible schedules to combat burnout and attract and retain talent. A survey of CEOs this spring found nearly one third of large US companies were looking into solutions like four-day or four-and-a-half-day workweeks. Senator Bernie Sanders has argued for a 4-day, 32-hour workweek, writing in April: “It’s time to reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life.”

Even without a reduction in total hours, a Gallup poll last year found a third day off would be widely embraced: 77% of US workers said a 4-day, 40-hour workweek would have a positive impact on their wellbeing.

When asked if they’d rather keep a four-day workweek or get a 20% raise, many San Juan County employees noted the fact that getting that kind of salary increase in their current jobs was simply not a viable option. Instead, they see their current situation as the best of both worlds. “You can choose whether you want that extra time or extra money in the form of a second job, but it gives the employee that choice,” said Kristen Rezabek.

Not all county employees are formally eligible for the 32-hour workweek; right now it only applies to the roughly 155 positions represented by the union. The impact of the shift will continue to be studied over the course of the current contract. The county will present a two-year report next year.

“Change happens by somebody actually doing the change,” said Merritt. “The only way we’re going to find out if it works is by doing. And so far, I feel happy; I feel seen as an employee and as a human, and I feel like it could be a beautiful step forward for other people if we just trust it and try it.”

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