SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — After around a year of discussion, the City of South Portland is moving towards a four-day work week for the majority of its city employees starting August 7.
City officials say the discussion was sparked after the pandemic when many were transitioning back to a traditional work week after working remotely.
"I think the pandemic made everybody more conscious about work/life balance," Human Resources Director Stephanie Weaver said.
With the new schedule, the city hall will be open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The City Clerk and Finance Officers will remain open until 6 p.m. only on Tuesdays.
To better serve its employers, the city worked with a consulting firm that took a close look at its operations to see what—if any—changes would be the best fit.
It didn't take long for a pattern to emerge: Out of its non-union members, around 89 percent of employees mentioned a four-day work week, flexible schedules, or both.
To compensate for the lost hours, the city also hopes the new schedule will help residents looking to head into the city hall either before or after work.
"What we've done is we've built hours on either end of the day where we used to have the sort of traditional business hours," Weaver said. "You hear someone who is waiting in line say something like 'I had to take Friday off in order to come register my new car' because they couldn't get here before eight and four-thirty. Well now they'll be able to come earlier or later."
Weaver also says it's the switch to offering online city services which made the change in the schedule possible as well.
This isn't the first time a city in Maine shifted their hours; Biddeford started a four-day work week around a year ago. They say since then, they've received hundreds of applicants for city jobs.
"I absolutely loved it, it was a very quick adjustment!" City Clerk Donna Richard said, who started in January. "I have plenty of time to do things that I don't have time to do otherwise."
So far, city employees in South Portland are excited as well. Communications Director Shara Dee says with Friday free, she can now celebrate her son's birthday.
"Now that I have my dream job and I'll also be able to work four days which is just, for the work-life balance for me, it's really great," Dee said.