Compressed Work Week Calculations

 

Table 1

Reduced Gasoline Consumption with 10-Hour Workdays

Background:

  • 10-hour shifts will reduce the number of commutes by 1 per week
  • If workers average 50 weeks of work per year (with 2 weeks of vacation) = 50 fewer commutes/year
  • Full-time workers = 102,889,000 (Source #1)
  • Average two-way commute = 30.6 miles (Source #2)
  • Average fuel economy = 20.2 miles/gallon (Source #3)
  • Average price per gallon for regular gasoline in U.S. = $4.113 (Source #4)

Calculations:

50 fewer commutes * 30.6 miles/commute / 20.2 miles/gallon = 75.74 gallons saved per year by each worker

75.74 gallons/worker * 102.9 million workers = 7.8 billion gallons of fuel saved per year in U.S.

75.74 gallons/worker * $4.113 /gallon = $312 savings/year for each worker

Sources:

#1   Full-time workers with traditional work arrangements in U.S. in 2005

Source: The 2008 Statistical Abstract

U.S. Census Bureau

 

#2   Average U.S. two-way commute to work in 2003

Source: Omnibus Household Survey

U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics

 

#3   Average U.S. fuel economy in 2007

Source: Light-Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975-2007

Environmental Protection Agency


#4   Average U.S. regular gasoline price as of July 14, 2008

Source: Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update

Energy Information Administration

 
 

Table 2

Reduced Emissions with 10-Hour Workdays

Background:

  • 10-hour shifts will reduce the number of commutes by 1 per week
  • If workers average 50 weeks of work per year (with 2 weeks of vacation) = 50 fewer commutes/year
  • Full-time workers = 102,889,000 (Source #1)
  • Average two-way commute = 30.6 miles (Source #2)
  • Average annual mileage = 12,500 miles/year (Source #3)

Calculations:

102,889,000 workers * 50 fewer commutes * 30.6 miles/commute = 157.4 billion miles per year

157.4 billion miles/year / 12,500 miles/year = 12.6 million cars removed

Sources:

#1   Full-time workers with traditional work arrangements in U.S. in 2005

Source: The 2008 Statistical Abstract

U.S. Census Bureau

 

#2   Average U.S. two-way commute to work in 2003

Source: Omnibus Household Survey

U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics

 

#3   Average annual vehicle mileage in 2000

Source: Average Annual Emissions and Fuel Consumption for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Transportation and Air Quality

 


 

Table 3

Commute Time Saved with 10-Hour Workdays

Background:

  • 10-hour shifts will reduce the number of commutes by 1 per week
  • If workers average 50 weeks of work per year (with 2 weeks of vacation) = 50 fewer commutes/year
  • Average one-way commute time = 25.0 minutes (Source #1)

Calculations:

50 fewer commutes * 25.0 minutes/commute * 2 times a day = 41.67 hours/year

Sources:

#1   Mean travel time to work of workers 16 years and over who did not work at home in 2006

Source: 2006 American Community Survey

U.S. Census Bureau

 

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