Here is a fun story about defending the family by making changes that ease the burden on working parents. As the story explains, a cost-saving measure in the state offices in Utah has had an unexpected benefit for working parents. The intent was to save on energy costs, and the savings were smaller than expected. But they saved big on overtime pay.

SALT LAKE CITY – Closing Utah state offices on Fridays has delivered an unexpected bonus: a big saving on overtime pay.
New calculations show Utah saved $4.1 million in the first year of a government experiment with a four-day workweek.

A working mother is happy with the change to four ten-hour days…

[Carolyn] Dennis leaves the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan at 5:45 a.m. with her youngest, a 2-year-old, in tow. she drops him at a day care center near work in downtown Salt Lake City. Her husband, a business owner, drops the couple’s 7-year-old son, a first-grader, at school.
Dennis works from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., skipping lunch hour and leaving a half-hour earlier than normal. That allows her to cut down a long day for her youngest.

She spends the extra day catching up on housework. One other benefit is less time spent commuting and the cost of gas, cut by one fifth a week.

To help the family, look at the real needs of working parents– flex time, family leave, safe neighborhoods, good day care and schools. Hardworking parents like Mr. and Mrs. Dennis deserve a break.