Things to Consider Before Implementing the 4-day Work Week at Your Workplace

Hey there, I`m Chris, one of the principal consultants at Social Impact Consulting and I have worked in several community organizations over my professional career where we either already had, or where we chose to put in place a 4-day work week (4DWW). 

By Chris Lau and Marlo Turner Ritchie

I wanted to share some of my experiences for those who are considering implementing this 4DWW as a viable and preferred way of working. In our first blog entry on this theme, we introduced “What is the 4-day Work Week and Why Do it?” If you missed it, check that article out here (LINK)

This blog entry presentsthings to consider before implementing a 4DWW at your workplace. 

Funder expectations or concerns

Putting in place a 4DWW can be alarming for some funders. Some may fear a decrease in quality or volume of work. Some funders might also expect a certain number of service hours or service days, as written into their service agreements. 

To manage this, engage with all your funders around the subject prior to its implementation to manage any fears or expectations. Also, ensure open communication around how the new model could impact the funding collaboration.  Share the positive impacts that are anticipated.  For example, in the current context of a mass labour shortage across sectors, any measure that can be put in place to attract and retain staff will have favourable outcomes for the projects and the organization.  

Budgetary issues

Unfortunately, for some, the 4DWW might be seen as a solution to funding or budgetary issues, such as when trying to avoid laying off employees or cutting programs. 

If this is your driving motivator, see it as an opportunity to test out a new approach to structuring your work week. ! This was the case in one of the organizations I led. To keep employees, we chose the model of 80% pay for 80% work (8-64-80 model). While this model is far from ideal in these types of circumstances, it can provide a temporary solution to reduce expenses. If you choose this path, ensure open and honest communication about this with the staff before implementation and make sure they understand that it’s a strategy to avoid cutting a staff position or program. If it is a temporary solution, share what the management team has in place to overcome the financial challenges and potentially reinstate their hours if so desired.

Accessibility for your clientele

The mission of some organizations doesn’t adapt well to 4DWW, especially if you’re a first-line responder organization. If you decide to close one day of the week, consider developing a collaboration with a partner organization that could handle any emergencies from your clients on the closed day. You could also consider having a rotating staff person check the voicemail messages on that closed day in case of emergencies.  As described in the first part of our series, you can also stagger staff to allow for some taking the Monday off and some taking the Friday off.  In smaller, grassroots organizations it is sometimes possible to call on the support of volunteers to help fill certain gaps in programming.  

Efficiency

Shifting to 4DWW often brings up conversations about productivity. The term ‘productivity’ is used loosely as there can be many ways to evaluate it within an organization. Especially for the model that maintains 100% pay for 80% hours, some organizations seek to maintain the same level of productivity of the organization to make this model acceptable. However, if staff are expected to do the same amount of work in less time, this can lead to stress, frustration and burnout. To avoid this, it’s essential to look at how to achieve the same amount and quality of work but in more efficient ways. This requires some level of change management to accompany a team towards being more efficient, such as reviewing how staff meetings and other meetings are held and organized and how programs and individual work are managed such as by creating program action plans.

Flexibility

Everybody works in different ways and at different paces. Is there actually an ‘ideal’ way and pace of working? Or do we each have a way and pace of working that is simply more efficient…for ourselves? I can very safely admit (those who have worked with me were, and continue to be, very aware and accepting of this) that I can sometimes be most productive at 2 AM. I’m a night owl! I also know I tend to be very efficient on certain types of tasks but less so in others. Some of us might be more effective working a longer work day versus a shorter day. Some of us need ambient noise while others need complete silence. Others thrive in multi-tasking while others need to focus on tasks one at a time. 

Why is acknowledging this diversity of work styles important? There is no single work model that will fit perfectly for every member of your team. It would also be unreasonable and unmanageable if everyone were to decide for themselves what works best. Some at 5 days a week, some working more in the mornings, others more in the evenings, some working 4 days, maybe some even at 3 days, some working exclusively from home, others completely from the office, some working on the weekends. A manager’s nightmare! Or is it? How realistic would it be to imagine a workplace that provides several options for models of working, keeping in mind that certain jobs have fixed requirements that should be non-negotiable (a drop-in coordinator needs to be in the office at work during drop-in hours for example). What are the non-negotiables that would apply to all staff members, if multiple models were offered? Presence at all-staff meetings, prioritizing meetings with important stakeholders and department team meetings come to mind. There are probably other non-negotiables too, such as attending important organizational events like the AGM. Picking one viable model makes sense for an organization. However, some flexibility can be key to accommodate specific employees for whom the chosen model works less well.

Partnership and stakeholder work 

There needs to be a certain flexibility built into 4DWW if your community partners or other external stakeholders hold meetings that require your presence on the day you are closed. Staff need to understand this, all the while taking back the time they work on their day off, as they would if they had to work on a weekend.

What if we decide 4DWW isn’t for us?

Your organization should not feel obligated to go towards 4DWW. Every organization can decide for themselves whether it works or not, or how to adapt it. Discussing the pros and cons openly with staff and the board is a very important step before making a final decision.  If you decide not to implement it in the long run, don’t be afraid to explore other strategies to increase staff recruitment and retention, staff quality of life and work efficiency, which we can support you with!.

Our next blog entry on this theme of the 4-day work week series, will describe how to implement a 4DWW with our step by step guide.