If you're a teen in Utah looking to get that long-awaited driver's license on a Friday, forget about it.
 
No state employees at the DMV will be around to help you as of Aug. 8. That's because Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is ordering that the vast majority of state employees no longer work on Fridays. Instead, they will be transitioning to working four 10-hour days Monday through Thursday in an effort to reduce energy costs and save commuters money at the gas pump in the midst of a struggling economy.
 
Utah is the first state in the country to implement a mandatory four-day workweek on such a broad level. While some cities and counties throughout the United States have tried similar measures before, other states, such as Alabama and Hawaii, are now wondering whether they should follow Utah's lead.
 
The governor's plan is to completely shut down 1,000 of the roughly 3,000 state buildings on Fridays, saving utility costs to heat and cool those buildings, for example. Huntsman projects the savings at $3 million for the first year. He believes it's a significant step to reducing the state's energy consumption 20 percent by 2015. And with gas prices over $4 a gallon in the United States, Huntsman also sees the move as a way for state employees to realize savings on transportation to and from work. This, of course, assumes those workers will not be traveling much on their three-day weekends.
 
"This will be a very good thing for the state," Huntsman said, when announcing his plan to reporters.
 
Public universities will not be affected by the change. Neither will essential services, such as courts and prisons.
 
In all, 17,000 state employees, or about 80 percent of the state workforce, will make the switch to the four-day work week next month, according to USA Today's analysis.
 
Huntsman contends that the plan will be embraced, particularly among younger employees and will be instrumental in recruiting talent for the state.
 
In a recent article, USA Today's Larry Copeland refers to that concept, quoting Rex Facer, an assistant professor at Brigham Young University who has been researching the notion of a four-day work week.
 
"More and more young workers are entering the work force," Facer tells Copeland. "They're looking for ways to enhance their work-life balance. Alternative work schedules offer more of this work-life balance than do traditional work schedules."
 
There are some tradeoffs associated with Huntsman's plan, however.
 
Some Utahns may be concerned about no longer being able to access state services on Fridays, though Huntsman has pointed out more than 800 of those services are available online. While state offices will be closed Fridays, they will have longer hours--from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.--Monday through Thursday, making it possible for many Utah residents to conduct business before or after work.
 
Still, some in Utah will have to find extended day care hours for their children or not rely as much on public transportation.
 
The four-day work week is essentially a yearlong experiment, and the results will then be analyzed. There are many questions to be answered: How will the change affect employee morale? Will the energy savings be realized? Will other states follow suit?
 
In time, those answers will come. Meanwhile, the nation is watching.