Our business is our people. Finding and retaining great people to help our clients raise more money in the most effective ways possible has always been paramount.

A few years back when we started to hear more about the 4-day work week, we were intrigued, but we had concerns. How could we get our work done in fewer days? How would we continue to effectively serve our nonprofit clients who operate 5-days a week? The more we researched, the more interested we became.

Sector-wide, we were facing the challenges of pandemic fallout, general burnout and compassion fatigue. I knew that mental well-being had to be a priority in order to keep serving our clients at the level they expect and deserve.

As we began to consider a 4-day work week pilot, I set some goals:

1. Increase the well-being and mental health of employees without impacting clients
2. Increase staff retention
3. Support the hiring process by making ST a more attractive place to work

Everything would continue in the name of serving our clients seamlessly – and hopefully – even better!

In June 2022 we launched a one year, four-day work week pilot. Our full-time salaried staff began working 4 days a week with no change in pay. Team members could choose Mondays or Fridays off consistently, with the mandate that, collectively, the team would maintain 5-day coverage for all client work. Our main goal was to ensure seamless client coverage of all work, all week.

How did we make this pilot a success?

My philosophy is that our staff knows their work best. So, I freed them to come up with their own ways of making it work, and then together we would systemize those processes. The team rose to the occasion.

Here are some of our learnings:

1. Maintain focus on deadlines: Deadlines don’t change. Keep clients’ needs front and centre. Find the times of day you’re most efficient and then do your hardest, most complicated work during that time.
2. Set expectations for the week with quick and regular team check-ins: Know who’s off when and keep the lines of communication open.
3. Find efficiencies: Consider reducing the length of regular meetings from one hour to 45 minutes or a half hour. Use instant messaging to get answers quickly.
4. I did regular pulse checks during the pilot, talking to staff, partners and clients alike. We also engaged in a staff survey at the 6-month mark. One person reported “my productivity increased during the 4 days as my mental health improved.”
5. Be prepared to end the pilot if necessary. A few months in, I had one-one-one conversations with clients. At least one client hadn’t noticed the change, and in fact, had forgotten we had adopted a 4-day work week. Others reported that we were still meeting and exceeding expectations. 

That’s not to say that the 4-day work week hasn’t been without challenges.

For the most part, by increasing efficient communication, we were able to iron out the kinks rather than having to make any wholesale change. For example, some of our vendor partners felt we were dropping work on them on Thursdays, expecting turnaround for Mondays resulting in weekend work for them. We addressed these concerns by sharing the impact on them with our internal teams, soliciting feedback, having open communication, and respecting that each other’s needs were all key.

We’ve also seen many gains with the four-day work week.

If our team is happier, our clients are happier. Our staff have reported feeling more productive after having a day to organize things at home. They can focus better. They have more time to recharge. One person reported that “the flexibility helps with better work/life harmony and helps me avoid burnout.” Interestingly another staff member said, “I can work on my day off if I choose to - working without pressure is a pleasure.”

When we asked our staff about the impact on their mental well-being, here are some of their answers:

• The 4-day workweek makes me more focused/on-task while at work, since I know I'll have a good amount of time for myself outside of work
• After a few hard years, the 4-day work week is giving me time to heal.
• I feel a lot more organized, which makes me feel less anxious and stressed.
• I have a clearer head and I feel more motivated than ever to help our clients raise more money!

What’s the upside for ST and our clients?

Our staff retention rates have improved, and as an attractive workplace we can hire great new team members. Clients like having a consistent team with less turnover. Fostering a culture of working smarter, not more, has had a positive impact on work for our clients. And in fact, several of our clients have rewarded us by expanding the scope of their work with us.

I know not everyone agrees that fewer hours can mean we do better work. That old-school mentality lingers on. Greece, for example, recently announced a 6-day work week! I will be watching to see how that goes.

We are now two years in, and I was able to declare the pilot a success before its time was up. Our team members have demonstrated that they are more capable of doing an excellent job when they feel empowered, rested and have the mental space to do their work well.

I appreciate this opportunity to share our learning journey in the hopes that more organizations will join us. I’m always happy to have a conversation with anyone who’s interested.

As CEO of Stephen Thomas Ltd (ST) Paula Attfield is passionate about helping nonprofit clients raise more money, particularly in the realm of integrated direct response annual giving. Contact her, PaulaA@stephenthomas.ca