So one morning you arrive at work to find an e-mail from the honcho in the corner office: Business is down in this flat-lined economy and we need to cut costs. Rather than lay off employees, we’re imposing furloughs — mandatory time off without pay.
Your first thought: Whip out the calculator and figure how much of a financial bite you’re looking at. Your second thought: Just how will this free time be spent?
It’s a question facing thousands of American workers, from government agencies to widget manufacturers to, yes, newspapers.
People are coming up with a variety of answers. Some see a furlough as a pure vacation. Others use the time to enhance their professional skills. Some do volunteer work; some pick up odd jobs to fill at least part of the shortfall in their bank accounts.
And some get roped into climbing onto their roof and cleaning out the gutters.
Rebecca Singer of Denver is a nurse at a nonprofit agency providing health and social services. (She requested the organization not be identified.) The agency recently imposed a 15 percent pay cut and benefit cutbacks, and is also making employees take one furlough day a month.
“During my furlough I’m picking up part-time work,” Singer said. “I’m working on weekends at a clinic and I’m also doing freelance writing for Doctors Without Borders.”
The furlough actually has an upside, she said. Her work with Doctors Without Borders, an international relief agency, involves research and advocacy against sexual violence in Liberia.
“I’m finding the work I’m doing on the side to be really rewarding emotionally and spiritually,” she said. “It’s a cause I care about.”
Denver architect Kevin McMahon recently spent two weeks on furlough from his firm.
Yes, he knocked a few household chores off the to-do list and read a couple of books, but he also did something to boost his career: He took and passed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design exam, which gives him a new set of accredited skills that he can offer the growing number of clients who seek “green” architectural standards.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to do it during my time off, but my wife encouraged me and I’m glad I did it,” McMahon said. “I studied for it about 20 hours, and the exam itself took two hours. It’s a leg up for my career.”
Using unpaid leave to hone work skills might stick in the craw, but it’s a smart move, said Anne Angerman, president of Career Matters, a Denver job strategy and coaching service.
“You should view it as an opportunity,” Angerman said. “If you have enough advance warning that a furlough is coming, you can line up an online course or some other type of quick training. It’s also a good time to network and bring your resume up to date.”
Celeste Jackson, public information officer with the Denver Public Library, was one of hundreds of city employees who took a mandatory furlough last Friday. The move saves an estimated $1 million for a city whose tax revenues have taken a hit.
One day isn’t enough to tackle a long- range project, but Jackson used her free time productively. She finished reading “The Worst Hard Time,” the Timothy Egan book about the Dust Bowl that’s the selection for this year’s Evil Companions book award.
Given that the library helps sponsor the April 16 award ceremony at the Oxford Hotel, Jackson was almost engaging in work-related duty. It wasn’t a problem for her: She said she found the book fascinating.
Shirley Tafoya, strategic plan analyst with the city’s human services department, knew exactly how she was spending her Friday furlough.
“I actually brought some work home because it’s a short week with Monday being Cesar Chávez Day,” she said.
Tafoya left work early on Thursday, chased home by the snowstorm like so many metro-Denver employees. “So I’ll be shoveling snow on my day off too, and I’m also hoping to do some spring cleaning,” she said.
Julius Zsako of the city’s community planning and development department also did some work on his furlough day after he finished shoveling snow. “I reread Blueprint Denver, which is our land-use and transportation plan,” he said.
Not everyone stays in town during their furlough, especially if it’s a larger chunk of time.
One month ago, Kirk Montgomery took a five-day furlough imposed on KUSA-Channel 9 employees by Gannett, the television station’s parent company. The furlough affected most of Gannett’s 41,500 employees nationwide.
Montgomery, KUSA’s entertainment anchor, opted to visit his young nephews in Texas.
“It was the cheapest place I could think of to go,” he said. “Plus I hadn’t seen them in a while.”
A second furlough for Channel 9 staffers was announced March 23. Montgomery has until the end of June to take it. He joked that he planned to use the five days to do laundry, which must make for a big pile of socks in the hamper.
Montgomery said furloughs can be tough on people who feel married to their jobs.
“I think the hardest part for us is that we can’t have any contact with work at all,” he said. “You can’t even check your e-mail. That kind of drives you crazy because you’re so into it.”
Not to mention the fact that it leaves you with no excuse to put off cleaning those gutters.
William Porter: 303-954-1877 or wporter@denverpost.com
Four for free
Furloughs mean a little extra time and a little less money for workers. Take advantage of the free time with these no-charge activities
Get wise to local flora (hint, it’s not golf-course grass) at one of the Denver Botanic Gardens’ free days. Next up: Friday at the Chatfield location. botanicgardens.org; for other free days at cultural organizations through the region, visit
Visit the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder on any given weekday. Letthem explain the preponderance of bum weather forecasts. eo.ucar.edu/visit
Freeload at the Russell Stover factory outlet store in Montrose. The place is bursting with free samples. 970-249-5372
Taste free wine at Highlands Wine Seller in Highlands Ranch at 3 p.m. every Friday. highlandswineseller.comTucker Shaw
