Marketing Artist L.L.C.

Corporate Communications Consulting by Andrew Tytla

Author: Andy Tytla

Published: 237 articles

The 4-Day Week

That’s right: a 4-day week. Not only a 4-day work week, but a 4-day school week, too. It’s being considered in New York State, and state employees across the country have been doing it since this summer (when gas prices were much higher).

Prof. Goose came up with “16 reasons why the 4-day work week was a good idea” on The Oil Drum:

The notion of our standard work week here in America has remained largely the same since 1938. That was the year the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed, standardizing the eight hour work day and the 40 hour work week. Each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday workers all over the country wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast and go to work. But the notion that the majority of the workforce should keep these hours is based on nothing more than an idea put forth but the Federal government almost 70 years ago. To be sure it was an improvement in the lives of many Americans who were at the time forced to work 10+ hours a day, sometimes 6 days of the week. So a 40 hour work week was seen as an upgrade in the lives of many of U.S. citizens. 8 is a nice round number; one third of each 24 hour day. In theory it leaves 8 hours for sleep and 8 hours for other activities like eating, bathing, raising children and enjoying life. But the notion that we should work for 5 of these days in a row before taking 2 for ourselves is, as best I can tell, rather arbitrary.

If we telecommute for part of the week, will our jobs be off-shored? How do we figure out alternate child care? If both work weeks and school weeks get synchronized, wouldn’t that make sense for everbody?

Just saving energy by not having to drive to work as much is reason enough to consider the 4-day work week. Sign the petition.

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Sunshine in Queens

There’s a neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., called “Sunnyside” but the sunny news regards Fresh Meadows, site of a new solar energy initiative announces by U.S. Energy Group. Here’s the story from Facility Blog:

The USE Solar project focuses on the potential for large multi-family residential and commercial buildings to make use of solar power to decrease their electricity usage, and reaffirms U.S. Energy Group’s commitment to decreasing energy use, energy costs, and the environmental impact of New York’s buildings.

U.S. Energy Group has selected “The Renee” building, a six story 120 unit co-op, located at 78-40 164th Street in Fresh Meadows, NY as the “beta test site” for its new solar initiative—tied to its USE manager Internet-based monitoring system. The Renee, also houses the company’s headquarters and is the beta site for its Energy Management Systems (EMS). Because the roof of The Renee has very little shading, it is uniquely suited for a solar project. This is an important initiative, because very few co-ops in New York City use solar energy.

“I am thrilled to bring solar energy to the Renee,” stated Jerry Pindus, founder and CEO of U.S. Energy Group. “We are developing energy sources and technologies and processes that will help control and monitor electricity usage and achieve immediate savings, while capturing available government energy credits and tax benefits. U.S. Energy Group is on a continuing quest to help buildings operate more efficiently, and this project reaffirms our commitment to alternative energy. We anticipate The Renee will become a showcase for installing affordable and commercially viable solar energy.”

Incentives from the State of New York, in this case, probably gave them enough of an incentive to move forward. That may be what it takes to finally get solar going for the masses. Check this site for details on your state.

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