Could a four-day work week benefit municipalities? French River thinks so

The Municipality of French River may soon offer its administration staff the choice of a condensed, four-day work week, joining a small number of Ontario municipalities that have undertaken similar pilot projects.

The move would see office staff working 9.37-hour days from either Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday, reaching the same 37.5 hours each week as the current Monday to Friday schedule of 7.5-hour days.

Splitting the team between having Mondays and Fridays off would allow the township to keep its office doors open five days per week, but the extended hours would add an extra half hour of service each day.

"This is a work in progress and we'll adjust as required, keeping in mind that the number one priority is to ensure that our services are kept at the same level without any additional costs," said French River chief administrative officer Marc Gagnon.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought more flexibility in how municipal staff completed their work, including remote options and the potential of alternative hours. French River Mayor Gisèle Pageau said staff have been open to exploring different work structures over the past two years.

"We unofficially started asking (staff) to have longer shifts and then take a longer period of time off, and it seemed to be working very well," Pageau said.

More services, same budget

Since workers would spend the same amount of time at work each week, there would be no additional burden on the municipal budget. Additionally, the longer daily shifts would allow the township to be open to the public for an extra 2.5 hours each week.

A compressed work schedule may not be compatible with all employees. French River would allow its roughly 10 office staff to either opt into the pilot project or remain on a standard Monday to Friday schedule.

Pageau said early discussions with staff showed strong interest in trying the compressed schedule.

"We heard from staff that they thought it was a great idea," Pageau said. "It'll bring out goodwill between the administration and the staff. Happy employees are productive employees, so we're looking forward to it."

Certain departments, like public works, already operate on a condensed schedule during the summer.

Four-day week gaining popularity

Similar pilot projects have reached a handful of municipalities in Ontario. The Township of Zorra, Town of Aylmer and Township of Blandford-Blenheim are among those that have tried compressed work weeks for administration staff.

Communities embracing a compressed schedule have found boosts in employee morale and productivity, a drop in absenteeism since employees could take care of appointments on their off-day, and higher levels of interest from prospective employees. 

Western University's local government program has been studying the Zorra project. Program head Joe Lyons said his team was still reviewing the data ahead of a December presentation to that council. Preliminary results show that employees were mainly satisfied with their employer before starting the compressed work week and remained satisfied after the conclusion.

If council approves the concept at its Dec. 1 meeting, French River will adopt the compressed work week pilot project between Jan. 7 and Sept. 1, 2022. The municipality will monitor productivity and satisfaction during the period to assess whether to keep the compressed schedule as a permanent option.

Gagnon said the township would be open to sharing its experience in the future with other companies or organizations considering a condensed work week.