GOLDEN, Colo. — One year into testing a four-day, 32-hour workweek, the Golden Police Department reports positive results in employee retention, community engagement, and productivity.
The trial program began last summer as the City of Golden sought new ways to attract and retain employees, particularly for the police department.
"I might be one of the fewest agencies in the state of Colorado that is fully staffed," said Golden Police Chief Joe Harvey.
Harvey has been with Golden PD for nearly 10 years and said the trial program is relieving some staffing pressure.
"There was one other time for about 15 days that we were fully staffed. Fifteen days. About 15 days in 10 years was the only time we were fully staffed," he said.
Harvey partially attributes his fully-staffed department to the compressed workweek. The program has been an attractive incentive for current officers and those who want in.
"At the end of the day, they may make more money going someplace else, but they will stay because of the way they feel, because of the value they get. When you're meeting those needs, they don't want to leave. It's how you care for your team, and in Golden, we care for our team in many other ways than just a compressed workweek," said Harvey.
For Officer Phil Rogers, being on patrol in his hometown is special.
"Having the chance to help someone in need, to give someone a different outlook on life, that's really what it's all about," said Rogers.
But, Rogers knows there is more to life than just being out on patrol.
Two years ago, his shift looked like any other officer's shift in any other city. He said his new workweek has given him benefits that can't be measured by numbers on a bar graph.
"I've got a 5-year-old and a 9-year-old," said Rogers. "Everything that I do is for my family. So any time that I get to spend with them, an extra two hours a day, makes a world of difference."
The shorter workweek has given him and his colleagues more time with their families and themselves.
"Even on work days, I get to go pick up both of the boys from school every day, pick them up from the bus stop, go for bike rides," said Rogers.
It's a feeling widely shared by other officers in the department, including, Officer Nicole Hougland. Her previous schedule did not allow her much personal time.
"You either were working and then sleeping, then it was repeat. So, there wasn't a lot of time to do things with the family, or just have some time to myself, or just kind of have a social life or any kind of life outside of work," said Hougland.
"I'm able to spend more time with my family. I have a husband and a 3-year-old kiddo at home. So we're able to go up to the mountains and fish and hike. We love to go camping with our two dogs, so it just allows us more time," said Hougland. "I feel more rested. I get more than enough sleep, and I'm more energized. I feel more passionate about coming in and doing the work that I signed up to do in the first place."
That was Chief Harvey's vision back when the program started — emphasizing morale and letting it trickle into the work his officers are doing.
"My number one priority is to the people who work in this organization. My number two priority is public safety. And some people question that. They're like, 'Whoa, that doesn't sound right,'" Harvey said. "I can't give you public safety if I don't have healthy, focused, trained, willing people to go out there and put their lives on the line for the community."
Harvey said even with a shorter workweek, his shifts are fully staffed and his officers have found more time to engage with members of the community in a meaningful way.
"Our community engagement numbers have tripled," said Harvey. "What I want, what I demand, is that every contact made by a police officer is a wow experience, regardless of what the contact is for. That citizen walks away feeling like they were treated better than they could have expected."
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In addition to healthier officers, the changes have also resulted in faster response times, more self-initiated calls for service and savings in overtime spending.
Compared to the year prior, police response time dropped by an average of 29 seconds.
Self-initiated calls for service increased for the department during the trial. Harvey said self-initiated calls for service can include many things an officer does on a daily basis, including an officer making a traffic stop, contacting a suspicious person or just chatting with neighbors. The police chief attributes the rise in calls mostly to more accurate reporting by officers.
"Some of that change occurred because we were asking them to do it differently... when we started this, we informed our team [that] we have to be able to know what you're doing or not doing, so it's important for you to be calling out," said Harvey. "The other increase is because everybody knows that the only way we're keeping this is for them to be active during the eight hours."
Overtime spending dropped dramatically from the previous year, saving the department over $190,000. Harvey said his budget is based on a 40-hour workweek for each officer, and he is trying hard to make sure they only complete 32 hours of work. When an officer does complete a 32-hour workweek, that extra 8 hours is added to a pool of time.
"When we have that scenario — somebody is on training and somebody now has fallen sick — and they need to cover them, we will go to somebody on the shifts on either side. We'll bring them in, and they'll end up working a 12-hour day. They're not getting overtime for that four hours. You're taking it from a pool. I'm just taking it from this pool that they have, and they know. They're willing to do that because they know the importance that you've got to have skin in the game. You've got to give back in order to keep it, so we're able to do that more often. And as a result, we saw the overtime numbers plummet," said Harvey.
For Rogers and Hougland, the personal time they've gained back is invaluable.
"It's a job where we see people on their worst days, and that can weigh on you, but it makes it go away when you get the chance to go for a bike ride with the kids, or go swimming, play basketball, help coach something. It makes a world of difference," said Rogers.
The program has been so popular that the city has decided to continue it indefinitely. It is not permanent, but the program is out of the trial phase, according to officials.
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