Halifax's sidewalk cafes and harbourside boardwalks could get a lot busier on Fridays, if provincial government workers adopt a proposal being floated for a four day work week.

It won't happen anytime soon, but Nova Scotia's energy minister says its time to talk about shortening the number of days workers head to the office.

Richard Hurlburt is proposing to shut down government buildings on Fridays to save on energy costs and reduce traffic. Under the plan, employees would work four ten-hour days.

Hurlburt says the idea would help workers and government coffers.

"Because office buildings have air conditioners ... and in the wintertime, it would be safer (because) maybe employees wouldn't have to travel in bad weather on certain days," he said.

In the U.S., Utah has already adopted the concept of a shorter work week, becoming the first state to do so. Officials there say they're hoping to reduce the state's carbon footprint.

But environmentalists say they're not sure if there will be significant benefits to the environment.

"I'm not certain at this moment whether this would be our biggest reduction. I would be pretty surprised if that's where we would get our energy efficiency savings," said Maggy Burns, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Ecology Action Centre.

Critics say addressing energy conservation issues in the province and elsewhere is going to take a lot more than altering work schedules. Hurlburt said he wants to see a full analysis of costs and benefits of a shorter work week.

Despite skepticism, many workers said they support the idea.

"I wish I could work ten hours a day for four days instead of ten hours a day every day," one teacher told CTV News.

With a report by CTV's Denelle Balfour in Halifax