Utah this summer will officially be the first State to introduce a mandatory four-day work for state employees, joining other local governments across the nation are cutting schedules to save energy and resources.

The new four-day, 10-hour schedule would apply to about 17,000 state workers — about 20 percent of the total state workforce. All those people will not have to commute on Fridays, and the offices where they work — about 1,000 buildings state-wide — won’t have to be heated or cooled, and lights and computers would be turned off.

Gov. Jon Huntsman, remarkably a first-term Republican, says he's making the change to reduce the state's carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, improve customer service and provide workers more flexibility. However the states finances must be considered the major reason

"The public reaction has shows a willingness to give this a go," Huntsman says.

The change will apply to about 17,000 employees, roughly 80% of the state workforce, Public universities, the state court system, prisons and other critical services will be exempt. Residents still will have sufficient access to state offices,

This could well be a real way of reducing costs and the carbon footprint until such time as alternate renewable power stations are full commissioned.

Many citizens seem to agree that the time has now come for the Department of Labour, President Obama and Congress to endorse a change in how Americans work. With single parent families, which have become ‘a norm’ in the United States; a four day work week will take the pressure off parents. The day change would reduce the cost of child Day Care. One might say that lawmakers can truly help in reducing the number of latch-Key children in society.

Elsewhere the federal government has opened 17 telecommuting centres around DC so that federal employees can skip the commute. This is a great and easy way to get cars off the road and cut down on fuel consumption

Not only will it reduce costs and the carbon footprint but would allow many if not all to adjust to a better work and  life and consumption balance that so many of us yearn.