Corporate

Innovative Concepts for Working Together in a Post-Pandemic World 20 an executive white paper by CEO Health + Safety Leadership Network Sometimes Less is More: Moving to a Four-Day Work Week In the fall of 2022, PRAXIS made the decision to enter a trial to see if a four-day week was feasible for their organization. The trial ended in March and the data revealed that it was a success, so they extended it for another six months. CEO Maureen Juniper says she was surprised that some people were hesitant. "You'd think people would be super excited when you're offering four days at the same pay, but some were worried about it. They weren't sure how it would work and how it would impact them." PRAXIS took training with 4 Day Week Global who advised them to make sure the program was employee driven. A working group representing all levels of the organization helped determine how they would serve clients and how they would structure the extra day off. "We decided on a model that has half of our employees off on Mondays and the other half off on Fridays so that we can cover for each other and ensure the highest level of customer service." Another organization going through the trial recommended that PRAXIS hold a pain point session. Juniper says it was instrumental in moving forward. A facilitator led the entire team through a frank discussion about any barriers that would prevent them from being as productive and efficient as possible. "We set an ambitious goal to get those things fixed and we've just done another session because we've been in it for six months." One of the easiest and first things they did was to cut down on meeting time. "We record our day on a timesheet, so we know exactly what we're doing and when. We saw we were spending a lot of time in meetings and had a lot of people in those meetings. We created a challenge called the 500 Challenge in November to get down under 500 hours in meetings. It sounds like a lot, and it is. We reached the goal and we've been keeping the time even lower than that." Employees created their own productivity plans. They had the flexibility to choose which productivity tools would work best for them. Their personalized productivity plan was included in the contract they signed indicating their agreement with the terms of the four-day week. "I was so impressed. They learned a lot through the training we provided and had a lot of ideas about how they were going to improve their day." Juniper says clients are fully supportive and love it, with the caveat, of course, that there is no impact on the quality of service. She says, right now, employees are taking 65% of rest days and her goal is to get as close to 100% as soon as possible. They're also looking at ongoing training for existing employees and orientation for those who join the organization. "New employees will come with just five-day work week experience. Jumping into four days without training or orientation is very challenging."

• Cover
• Introduction
• A Snapshot of the Panelists and Speakers
• Highlights of Panel Discussion
• Building Culture and Creating Mentally Healthy Workplaces from Afar
• Conclusion