Pleasant surprise in Utah

You may recall that Utah went to a 4-day workweek a few months ago during the height of the gas price hikes. NPR has a follow-up story that suggests that while they haven’t seen the expected decreases in energy costs, there have been unexpected benefits to worker productivity:

Mike Hansen, strategic planning manager in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, says one of the more surprising effects of this workday change is [...] “increased productivity —  employees behind their desk more this year than the last two years, to the tune of 9 percent” less time off. Paid overtime is also down.

While it may not have been the benefit Utah was looking for, it’s a pretty good reminder that being open to options sometimes leads to unexpected wins.