In November last year, the College began a six-month trial of a four-day work week for our staff. The move to a shorter work week follows the same model many organisations, companies and government agencies have already implemented, with the goal of maximising productivity and efficiency, providing a better work-life balance, and supporting the health and wellbeing of our team.
In June this year, following an analysis of the results of the trial, a four-day work week was officially adopted, with staff now permanently working from Mondays to Thursdays.
As a small, already fully remote workforce, our staff consistently go above and beyond to serve our members, and that will not change with the new work arrangements. The key to making this a success was to find ways to better organise our time through initiatives such as allocated hours for dedicated focus time, better structured and shorter meetings, and the development of individual time-management strategies while delivering the same high-quality, responsive service for our members.
With careful planning and the wholehearted commitment of our team, collectively we have succeeded in increasing our productivity, improving work engagement and job satisfaction, and boosting people’s overall wellbeing through reduced fatigue and stress.
“The College is committed to being an employer of choice and leading by example, providing a safe, supportive and flexible working environment for our team,” said College Chair Ryan Lovett. “The four-day work week provides this, while also being a key point of differentiation in a very competitive job market.”
As global examples of this work model have demonstrated, the benefits are myriad, and we look forward to building an even stronger platform for growth and the continued provision of new services for our members.