St. Jean Baptiste Day marks two years since Open North’s transition to a four-day workweek. This came after a few years of remarkable workplace change throughout our world. In 2021, Open North responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, like many other similar organizations, by transitioning to be fully remote. This resulted in many staff relocating outside of Montreal where we are based and our hiring staff without obligating them to relocate to Montreal or another expensive city. As we made steps to institutionalize our remote work environment, we offered staff the option to use co-working spaces near them in the absence of a central office. We focused on building a supportive work environment remotely and fostering face-to-face interactions at opportune moments, especially for new colleagues. From our experience, getting the work done in a remote environment is not the challenge; rather, the challenge is ensuring people feel connected to each other and the overall purpose of Open North.
While many organizations, most notably the federal government, are mandating that staff return to the office in either hybrid or fully in-person settings, Open North is committed to remaining a remote workplace. Our staff are located around the world, with some working from multiple different locations throughout the year. Our success in becoming a fully remote organization made room to consider other strategies for organizational effectiveness and employee well-being.
In the summer of 2022, Open North embarked on a bold experiment in the not-for-profit ecosystem: transitioning to a four-day workweek. Our shift began with a pilot program for July and August that was later extended to the end of the year. Following a review with staff and partners, we formalized the four-day workweek into policy in November, 2022. While there is a significant amount of global research that espouses the benefits of a four-day workweek, there were not a lot of Canadian experiences to draw on. We only knew of one other not-for-profit that attempted a four-day workweek in Canada, LeadNow. Recently, we were excited to read a press release from another Canadian organization, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia (CPAWS-BC), that has launched a pilot.
Under our interpretation of a four-day workweek, employees work 80%, but receive 100% pay and are responsible for 100% of their deliverables. Research supports the efficacy of this model, our policy reflects the learning from a long-term four-day workweek study in Canada and the U.S. that demonstrated increased productivity and job satisfaction among participants. At Open North the workweek was condensed to Monday through Thursday, with Fridays reserved for isolated tasks and only if absolutely necessary. For Open North, working the same schedule is the best option, but other service delivery organizations choose to stagger their employees to ensure five days of coverage. To respect the extra day off of our colleagues, staff are instructed to not send emails or Slack messages requiring immediate responses on Fridays if they choose to work. Schedule send features have become our friend. If employees find themselves consistently working on Fridays, it is seen as a failure of management, whether direct or organizational.
The motivation behind our shift to a four-day workweek stemmed from Open North’s values, particularly our emphasis on caring for one another, defined as follows:
Open North’s staff and partners are highly skilled professionals with diverse backgrounds, ambitions, and lifestyles. Work is only one element of each staff member’s full self. While we create an environment where we can laugh together and support each other, we recognize that work is meant to uphold our broader lives and that staff deserve respect for their boundaries and individual goals. A culture of support that balances challenging opportunities with realistic expectations is an active and dynamic process that requires the commitment of all staff.
Open North has always prioritized a healthy work-life balance, but as a small not-for-profit with budget limitations, we find it challenging to take concrete steps. We have worked to establish a culture that allows flexibility for personal and family commitments, but adding an extra day to the weekend makes all of this easier. In addition to staff vacation entitlements, we offer staff ten personal days a year which require no explanation or approval. One of the interesting knock-on effects of a four-day work-week is that our vacation and personal day allotments extend further.
One of the important considerations of this transition was its potential impact on partners. Since our pilot started in the summer, and many organizations have adjusted schedules during July and August, the impact on partners didn’t become apparent until into the fall. We had to learn to deal with some scheduling conflicts: our four-day workweek affects shared meeting schedules and deadlines. Internally, deliverables, like proposals or reports, due on a Friday are now adjusted to align with the Thursday cutoff.
At the end of the extended pilot we surveyed staff to see how the transition was impacting them both in and outside of work. For existing staff, the message was clear: the transition is irreversible.
One telling quote from staff regarding how it has affected their overall well-being said, “It has been extremely helpful and a remarkable improvement in quality of life, not just for myself but for my family. Many of us have caretaker or family duties, and having been able to have the extra day to tend to different responsibilities outside of work has been really beneficial.”
Similarly, another staff member stated, “Overall, it has been great for my well-being. One extra day makes a lot of difference to be able to dedicate a day to personal tasks and have two full days for rest, passions, etc.”
The key for staff productivity has been how they manage their energy and spend their time. One staff member said it this way, “In general, it has increased my productivity. Usually, my productivity drops on Thursday, but in the four-day work pattern, I know that Friday is off so I finish my work on Thursday with more enthusiasm.” Another similar statement was, “I am extremely purposeful about how I spend my time. It leads me to better prioritize tasks and communicate with my supervisor when there are doubts about how best I spend my time during the four days.”
When combined with a remote workplace, the four-day workweek opened doors to hiring talent that might have been inaccessible otherwise. Like many not-for-profits, Open North has always faced a challenge recruiting staff with the level of content knowledge and experience we require. We are often competing with the public sector for talent and we do not have the budget to compete on salary alone. While the world tries to find its balance after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Open North sees opportunities in the remote, four-day workweek to ensure we can recruit for diverse perspectives, create an inclusive environment, accommodate varying needs, and set a standard for work-life balance.
The ongoing key to our success is evaluating how we use our time and where we can reduce commitments that take away from direct working time. Some practical changes include reducing standing meetings, transitioning to bi-weekly all-staff meetings, and encouraging asynchronous work via Slack. Our learnings have emphasized the importance of constant review and iteration. We haven’t perfected the new schedule yet; it doesn’t work equally well for all staff. But it seems to be disruptive in all the right ways. Open North’s shift to a four-day workweek is a tangible step toward living our values. We are demonstrating our commitment to employee well-being, productivity, and adaptability in the face of changing work paradigms, bolstered by empirical evidence from global research studies.