FROM NINE-TO-FIVE TO THE FOUR-DAY JIVE

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Story by MAX REID

The last 20 years or so has seen significant transformations in the work lives of people all across the world.

For many of us, when we think of these transformations our minds flash images of the offices of young tech startups, furnished with beanbag chairs and ping pong tables—often more evocative of a McDonalds play-place than the cubical farms that we are more familiar with.

It’s easy to perceive these amenities as frivolous comforts for an already comfortable generation of young workers, however, more and more research is beginning to show that employers who actively invest in the wellbeing of their staff, even after they have clocked out for the day, are able to both earn more and increase productivity.

One of the most common of these worker-supportive initiatives, currently under consideration for businesses across many industries, is the four-day work week.

The four-day work week is a concept that tends to raise the guard of business owners, especially those who have “been around the block a few times.”

The idea that “if you give an inch, they take a mile” does not exist for no reason and it is often owners who stand to be burned the worst when they take a shot on doing a nice thing.

However, as years have passed and terms like “The Great Resignation” enter the common lexicon, additional thought and research has been devoted to concepts like the four-day work week in the effort of making work—to put it bluntly—slightly less dreadful.

A 2022 trial conducted by labour research firm, 4 Day Week Global, and led by Boston College economist and sociology professor, Juliet Schor, found that a four-day, 32-hour work week led to an average 8.14 percent increase in revenue among the 33 companies studied over a six month period.

Additionally, revenue was seen to grow by 37.55 percent when compared to the same six-month period of the previous year.

In terms of productivity, 95 percent of the companies involved recorded either stable or improved levels of productivity among employees during the trial period.

In a recent TED Talk related to the report’s findings, Schor explained that “A key part of the model is that in return for the ‘gift’ of a day off, people will squeeze all of their productivity into four days. While they may be spending less time at work, they are not necessarily doing less work.

“The ‘secret sauce’ is work reorganization–cutting out the least productive activities,” she said, citing superfluous meetings as often being the first item on the chopping block.

The report also sought clarity in the issue of engagement versus disengagement among workers of various schedules. More plainly, it compared feelings of enthusiasm and apathy among employees who work four-day, fiveday and six-day work weeks.

Among U.S. employees who work at least 35 hours per week, it was found that those who work traditional five-day weeks report the highest levels of engagement, 32 percent, as compared to 28 and 30 percent for four-day and six-day workers respectively.

What is of note, however, is that levels of disengagement—or as Schor put it, the feeling of “I hate my job”—are lowest among workers with a four-day schedule.

By comparison, five-day and six-day-aweek workers reported disengagement of 17 and 21 percent respectively.

This points to the fact that while a four-day model is not a one-way ticket to the hearts of your employees, but again—a reduction in overall workplace dread is not a bad place to start.

Jolene Watson, a Saskatchewan-based professional speaker and trainer, and founder of Clarity Coaching and Development, has been working with businesses in her province to help them implement practices geared around employee wellness.

She recently made news for helping a Regina mechanic shop carry out a four-day work week trial period, while being a fierce advocate for the practice, acknowledges that there specific considerations businesses need to make before launching blindly into a reduced schedule.

As many reading have probably mumbled to themselves already, collision repair is typically an hours-based industry, as opposed to flat rate pay, and the thought of surrendering a full day of production is borderline sacrilege for owners and technicians alike.

That is why Watson recommends an approach to the four-day week that properly accounts for both the operational necessities of the business and the responsibilities of individual staff members.

“With Kinetic, what [the owner] did was not cut their hours—they are still giving her a 40-hour work week…it’s just that now they get that full extra day off to spend time with their family,” she said.

Kinetic’s owner, Erin Vaughan, wanted to be able to give her staff Mondays off, but realized that customers would still expect to be able to pick up their vehicles on that day.

It was decided that shifts would be staggered and a manager would come in on Mondays to hold down the fort and deliver keys to customers.

“Another school of thought on that might be that everyone gets to choose which day they have off. That way, you do not have to close for a day because that's not always possible, logistically speaking.”

Watson says that by opening up this one avenue of flexibility, business owners may actually find themselves more likely to explore other mutually beneficial offerings to potential employees.

For example, a bodyshop on a shortened or staggered work schedule may be able to benefit from the presence of more part-time employees, particularly in the business’ front-end.

Lower stakes or temporary work can then be offered to those who want it, while the business can reap the savings that come from fewer benefits to provide.

Further to that, the previously mentioned report cited a study conducted in Sweden, in which nurses at a hospital saw their shifts reduced to six hours, with additional staff hired to fill in the missing hours.

At the end of the trial, it was found that the money saved from unused sick days and unemployment benefits was able to support the wages of those additional staff without any reduction in pay to the original nurses.

For collision repair centres who may be seriously considering offering a four-day week to their staff, Watson suggests you follow the example of a former boss of hers.

“In my past, I had a boss who would incorporate something called ‘stay interviews’ and he would encompass that within my performance review.

“He would do that every three months, and would ask questions, such as ‘What are you passionate about? Are we actually using your talents, interests and skills to their full ability? What professional opportunities are you excited about?’”

This, in addition to a scorecard method in which employees rank the priority of their needs at work, are key steps for owners and managers in establishing the specific reason why they wish to offer this to staff.

If your four-day work scheme is adding to the stress of your staff, whether through complicated scheduling or poor communication, or worse—is damaging your relationship with customers, adjustments need to be made.

The managers who tend to fair best with this practice understand that they are not simply removing one day of work from the week—instead; they are helping their staff add a full extra day to their lives.