How to implement a 4-day work week at your office
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Mike Myatt, executive director of BangorHousing
It’s been nearly five years since we all closed our offices one Friday in March and sent our staff home — unsure when we would see them in person again.
Since then, business leaders have experienced a range of challenges adjusting to working from home, figuring out the logistics of opening offices back up and trying to hire and retain employees with diverse needs.
At BangorHousing, we’ve spent much of this time thinking about our operations. We’ve examined how we were working until 2020 and considered what we have the flexibility to address and change for the future of our company. One of the biggest lessons we are continually learning is how to stay nimble and support the needs of our employees.
Earlier this year, we rolled out a four-day work week schedule. It’s been an adjustment, but overall, we have seen incredible success with this program. Both our staff and our managers say that they feel the benefits and are appreciative of the change. We see no reason to end the program — if anything, I encourage more employers to consider implementing one. If you’re considering a four-day work week at your company, here are some of the lessons we’ve learned this year.
Establish your rules. Before rolling out this program, you need to understand how different departments and managers work. You need support from your managers to successfully implement any idea. Make sure they’re comfortable and confident that their teams can handle working 10-hour days, and that it will be sustainable with the type of work they do. We also made this an opt-in program — we do not require any employee to participate if they would rather work five days a week. Another element to consider is how you will handle PTO — for our four-day work week employees, they are required to take 10 hours of PTO for one day off, since that reflects the amount of time they’ll be missing.
Be realistic. It's also important to note that a four-day week might not be right for every position. If you have a person responsible for answering the phone or managing a high-traffic area helping customers, this might not work. Have a plan for how you’ll approach this news for those employees who might not qualify, and be prepared with alternative solutions. You should have a plan ahead of time to provide answers and transparency.
Remain consistent. At BangorHousing, we have split these schedules so people either work Monday through Thursday, or Tuesday through Friday. Every three months, we switch — that way, everyone has an opportunity to have Mondays off or Fridays off. Our offices are open all five work days — and because of our schedule, we are open for more hours — a big benefit for our residents. We also decided to put everyone on a regular Monday-through-Friday schedule during holiday weeks to avoid any confusion.
Trust your employees. When we first announced that we were rolling out a four-day work week, many of our employees were skeptical. How would this work? What was the catch? Once they realized how the program worked and began practicing it, they understood that their managers trusted them and were confident that they could manage this change. Telling your employees that you trust them is good, but showing them that you trust them is better.
Reap the benefits. Although it’s only been a few months, we have already seen much success with this schedule. Our employees have told us that they don’t feel as burnt out because they have more time away from the office. We’ve also seen an increase in staff bonding. For example, a few of our employees who had the same day off this summer took advantage and made it a golf day together. We have also heard that employees feel like they are trusted more and have more time to spend with their families.
Managers have mentioned that they have noticed an increase in productivity. This is also a great alternative for those employees who aren’t good at taking PTO — they’re forced out of work once a week. It has also helped with our recruiting efforts — this is a benefit that prospective employees have told us drew their attention to our job openings.
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