'It's just a shortened workweek so we're all on the same rhythm'
A growing number of employers have experimented with different schedules over the past couple of years in the wake of the pandemic.
And for one Montreal company, a new 4.5-day work schedule has become its sweet spot.
Nectar — a developer of technologies that helps beekeepers manage their colonies — had initial discussions among HR and management in March about switching schedules to help employee work-life balance.
After some back and forth about the details, the company decided to give all its 20 employees Friday afternoon off for an eight-week trial. And every week, it would send a survey with questions about how it was going for the team, says Marie-France Laperrière, HR business partner at Nectar.
“’Does the formula need to be improved? Should we rethink these four-and-a-half days? What do we need to change?’ All throughout those eight weeks, there was a lot of data gathered.”
Positive feedback
During that experimental phase, the feedback was “overwhelmingly positive,” according to Laperrière, despite some initial misgivings expressed that collaboration might become more challenging with less time available during the workweek.
“At first people were like, ‘I’m not sure if this is really going to work,’ and at the end of the eight weeks, we found that this was not a concern after all. The fact that everybody has the same afternoon off helps mitigate this issue,” she says.
“We all have the same workweek; it’s just a shortened workweek so we’re all on the same rhythm.”
Eventually, Nectar decided the trial was a success and it has now beome the company’s permanent schedule.
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As an employer that values flexibility, the company has concerns that mandating this time away would have a negative impact — but fears were overblown, says Laperrière.
“By having a fixed afternoon off… we were able to take that time with a peace of mind not thinking, ‘Am I missing something?’ But since everybody is off, there was also no grey area. It’s Friday afternoon, everybody’s off, no need to check on your Slack messages or your email. It’s your time and you should feel legitimate to take it.”
Employees reported they were able to do some “light admin” around their personal lives on the Friday afternoon and this had a positive effect on their weekend experience.
“They were coming back on that Monday morning feeling much more recharged, much more ready to get back into it and they felt like we actually had time to enjoy the weekend,” she says.
“They had a longer weekend and they were excited to go back to work on the Monday.”
Top perk at Nectar
Employees remain enthusiastic about the new schedule and want it to continue. “It’s still the number-one perk of working at Nectar; people rate it 10 out of 10 and they wouldn’t go back,” says Laperrière.
The new schedule has provided a boost to overall productivity, she says.
“It forces you to look at your schedule and be a bit more discerning. It forces you to really think, ‘Am I maximizing my time?’ This was also a good exercise for the team to say, ‘Should we rethink some meetings?’”
Read more: Four-day workweek pilot in U.K. sees impressive results
For HR departments looking to adopt a new schedule, the advice is clear, says Laperrière.
“Go for a formula that works for the context for your company and listen to the feedback that you get from the team: speak with them, see what they would like — not everybody values that type of work schedule the same way.”
