What a 30-Hour Work Week is Really Like

John Dionas is a car dealer’s car dealer, with a big grin, a gold ring with five diamonds and a deep tan authenticated by a white line across the bridge of his nose. He has been in the business for three decades. For roughly 26 of those years, he says, he worked every Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and kid’s birthday. He hated it. And so, he was sure, did his employees. So five years ago, he decided to close Peninsula Auto Group, his Subaru dealership, on Sundays for “family day.” He was influenced by Mormon employees who couldn’t work when they needed to be at church, and by his general manager, who had been reading about how religiously minded companies like Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A reduce hours to increase productivity and profitability. But Dionas’ decision wasn’t about faith; it was about numbers:

Photographs by John Clark

His Bremerton, Wash., dealership,which is a ferry ride away from Seattle, averages between 90 and 100 new car sales each month -- and only about two of those happened on Sundays. When he announced the change, all of his managers got emotional.