Wellesley township aims to offer flexibility, more service hours through 4-day work week
Pilot would run from July 2022 to June 2023
The Township of Wellesley may soon allow some of its administrative staff to shift to a four-day work week — a move anticipated to improve experiences for for both staff and the community.
Earlier this month, a township committee approved a one-year pilot project that would see employees who currently work 35 hours per week complete those hours over a four day period instead of five.
Two cohorts of staff would work rotating shifts from Monday to Thursday and Tuesday to Friday. If approved by full council next week, the pilot would begin July 4th.
"We believe that this policy will allow some flexibility for all of our staff members to choose the work pattern that works best in their personal life," said Rik Louwagie, the town's chief administrative officer.
The goal is to improve employee morale, reduce absenteeism, increase customer service hours and help staff retention, he said.
At least 20 employees have the option to opt into the shift change and the majority of them have already indicated they would be interested, said Louwagie. All staff would also have various scheduling options to choose from, such as work from home, in office or a hybrid model.
Benefits for staff and community
Louwagie said the township was inspired by Zorra Township, which first implemented a similar pilot in September 2020, and recently made that change permanent.
"I think Zorra's pilot was a really good way to look at it, that you can, as a municipality, provide additional hours of service to the public with no added cost to the tax base," he said.
As a result of employees working longer daily hours, the township's office hours would be extended by 30 minutes each day — an additional 2.5 hours per week, at no extra cost.
Louwagie said scheduling flexibility will not only support accommodations, but also help boost morale.
"The idea of a four day work week for [employees], to have an additional day off has been extremely positive. And I think morale is just boosting as a result," he said.
Employees would also be encouraged to book appointments and personal matters on the weekday they have off, to help reduce absenteeism, he said.
A staff report about the policy outlines few concerns with the pilot, such as issues with communication between staff because there would be fewer days all staff are working together. However, the report suggests staff optimize the time they do work together.
Recruitment and retention
Louwagie anticipates this would also have a positive impact on the township's ability to attract and retain employees.
He said more and more candidates are inquiring about scheduling flexibility in recent interviews.
"They're certainly asking the questions of work from home ability and work life balance and how that looks … I think that's definitely a very important for the workforce nowadays and offering these various options will certainly help us to attract and retain staff members," he said.
If approved by council next week, the pilot will run from July 4, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
Staff plan to assess the success of the program and its long-term viability and report back to council. Louwagie said, if the feedback is positive, staff will make a case for a permanent change.