Ottawa Company Becomes The Latest To Trial A Flexible 4-Day Workweek
If you always feel like the weekend is over too quickly, how about an extra day off? One Ottawa company is now trialling a four-day workweek, and the idea of an extra-long weekend is pretty appealing! The company is the latest in Canada to test the change.
Employees of one Ottawa-based tech consultancy firm can now enjoy an extra-long weekend, every single week.
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Iversoft is reconfiguring the way their employees work. First to go was their 12,500-square-foot office, and now their Monday-to-Friday routine is also getting the boot.
The company is now allowing staff to work from home for at least the rest of the year, and an optional four-day workweek will give them even more flexibility.
“As long as the work is getting done, manage however you want,” the company's chief executive told staff, per the Ottawa Citizen.
Under the new system, workers are simply asked to digitally attend all essential meetings. Aside from this, they can work their weekly 37.5-hour schedule however and whenever they want.
“The main theme is providing flexibility for people, and kind of letting work blend a little bit with life,” chief executive Graeme Barlow explained.
The Ottawa-based company is the latest to adopt the change to a shorter workweek, following the impact COVID-19 has had on many people’s day-to-day work life.
A whole town in Nova Scotia has committed to implementing a four-day workweek, a move which was a direct result of the global pandemic.
The nine-month project began earlier this month and offers municipal employees Mondays or Fridays off every week.
In some parts of the world, discussions about a national three-day weekend have already started.
New Zealand's Prime Minister has mused over the idea post-COVID-19, suggesting that an extra day off would help restart the economy and encourage residents to explore domestic tourism.
If you’ve been dreaming of a longer weekend and shorter working week, these are promising signs.
While Canada is unlikely to announce a national four-day workweek in the immediate future, a cross-country move to Guysborough is always an option!