SAN JUAN COUNTY — Oct. 1 marked the start of San Juan County moving most of its county employees to a 32-hour work week.
The move was announced in August, and includes the majority of San Juan County workers excepting the Sheriff’s Office and management. All county offices will be open to the public during regular hours, although some departments might have to adjust their hours or close for a weekday.
Workers will continue to receive 100% of their regular pay for 80% of the hours. The expectation is that the output from those workers remains the same.
The decision to move to the shorter work week was driven by a few factors. One was to avoid raising taxes to pay county employees commensurate with a rising cost of living. By cutting down to a 32-hour week, worker wages remained “relatively consistent” without an additional tax burden on residents.
The county also pointed to ongoing staffing challenges.
“The County has been operating with a chronic 10-15% job vacancy rate across many key departments, making it difficult to meet deadlines, avoid employee burnout, and retain institutional knowledge,” they said in a news release.
The hope with the reduced work hours is to entice more employees to come work for the county while offering a stronger work/life balance.
“The greater idea behind the 32-hour week is to achieve both a ‘fiscally responsible and socially responsive’ workplace for county employees,” said County Council Chair Cindy Wolf.
“This change brings the opportunity to spend more concentrated time with family, volunteer locally, travel, schedule medical appointments, and do all the many things which are important to personal and community well-being without interrupting workflow,” Wolf added.
Research out of the University Cambridge and Boston College released in early 2023 found that employees who had moved to a 32-hour work week were 71% less burned out, 39% less stressed, and 48% more satisfied with their job than they were before the trial.
The study also found that revenue for 23 companies actually grew 1.4% over the course of a six-month period during the trial, while another 24 saw a 34% increase over the same period the year prior.
©2023 Cox Media Group
