Wellesley’s four-day work week may be here to stay
Posted Jan 6, 2023 08:00:00 PM.
A pilot project in Wellesley testing a four-day work week is about half-way through and, so far, it seems a success.
The one-year trial run started last July, essentially taking the standard five-day work week and condensing it to four. That means workers still put in the same number of hours per week but only have to work Monday to Thursday, or Tuesday to Friday.
“Personally, I think it's working very well,” said Rik Louwagie, Chief Administrative Officer at the Township of Wellesley. “Staff morale is definitely up, attendance is better than it's ever been, […] and we have not had any complaints from the public whatsoever.”
As with almost any pilot program, there have been some hiccups, though Louwagie said those have mostly had to do with scheduling outside the township.
“In that we are the only ones in the area doing the four-day week so our schedules, compared to our colleagues, are a little bit different,” he said. “That can have a bit of an impact on communication with our colleagues however, all in all, it's working very well.”
As for what comes next, Louwagie said the township will likely look to run a pair of surveys in late spring, one for staff and council and a second for the public, to see what is and isn't working. He said staff would then put together a report and recommendation for council to either scrap it, or keep the program permanently.
“We get a lot of questions from friends, neighbours, colleagues, you name it — there's definitely a lot of interest out there in seeing how our pilot program works out and I do believe, if it's a success, you will see more and more [municipalities] turning the same way.”
