Canadian companies have been trialing the four-day work week with many saying it improved staff morale and retention, but it’s not for everyone.
York researchers found that 90 percent of employees reported productivity increased or stayed the same during the study. Eighty-six percent said that four-day work weeks improved retention and recruitment.
The study looked at data from 30 companies and about 3,500 workers collected between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. The companies used one of two models of a four-day work week: a four-day 32-hour work week or a 40-hour four-day work week.
However, data from Statistics Canada raises the question of how practical a shift would be, given labour shortages across the country.
Improving Staff Morale
For non-profit Imagine Canada, keeping staff and seeing an improvement in employee mental, emotional, and physical health was a top benefit of the trial.Employees took fewer sick days, and the organization held a steady retention rate, he noted.
“One undeniable advantage of the 4-day work week is that it helps to retain and attract talent. No employee has left the organization since we started the pilot, and since we launched the trial,” he wrote.
He said a four-day work week comes with other challenges to manage.
“There are unique challenges, however, when implementing innovative initiatives in the nonprofit sector. There is often resistance to change and concerns about reactions from stakeholders - both understandable,” CEO Bruce MacDonald said.
One of the challenges was working with companies that do not have a four-day work week.
“The 4-day work week model is not universally accepted as a work practice. For us at Imagine, this translated into a reduced opportunity related to some anticipated funding as this new practice wasn’t in alignment with the vision of a particular funding prospect,” he wrote in the post.
Another obstacle was the need to adjust company goals to be more realistic.
“One of our goals going into the pilot was to adjust workload,” Mr. MacDonald wrote. “Before the trial, we consistently planned more output than our capacity actually allowed. This may still feel true at times, but we have made considerable, intentional efforts to have more realistic expectations.”
Impact on Revenue
A study done in 2022 looked at nine Canadian companies that trialed a four-day work week to track the benefits and the drawbacks.However, a Vancouver law firm that moved to a four-day week in 2021 said its seen revenues rise.
“They’re all players in this movement to achieve better mental health [and] better work-life balance. So, it wasn’t just me, it was my entire company,” she said.
Revenue increased by 15 percent for companies involved in the trial study.
StatCan also notes that costs could increase for some companies, as employees could work longer hours in a day, leading to possible overtime.
“Employers will often offer overtime to respond to increased demand for deliverables or to finish projects on time. Of the nearly 15.4 million employees at work across all sectors in July 2023, 15.5% worked some overtime,” StatCan said.
When it comes to productivity, statistics show that the number of hours Canadians have been working has been falling without impacting productivity.
“What we’ve seen in Canada over the past 25 years is a steady decline in this indicator of job quality. However, productivity has risen over this period,” StatCan said.
Legal Implications
Companies looking to move to a four-day work week will need to carefully review labour laws in their province, according to experts.Employers will also need to determine if the switch means employees work longer hours, but fewer days.
