[ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
While the concept of the four-day workweek may be a new business trend, such arrangements may not be possible for everyone, especially deskless workers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n O.C. Tanner, an employee recognition company, attempted a four-day workweek with their 450 factory workers, seeing if they could offer them the same kind of flexibility being enjoyed by the company\u2019s office staff.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n While it didn\u2019t quite work out, Gary Peterson, executive vice president of supply chain and production at O.C. Tanner, said the company learned a lot about their business in the process, and showed their workers that they listened and cared about them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Their experience can also show how other companies might try different kinds of work schedules too, for all their employees.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n O.C. Tanner had attempted a four-day workweek with production team workers about decade ago, Peterson said, and it didn\u2019t work. Still, given that the company\u2019s desked workers had more flexibility in work arrangements, O.C. Tanner didn\u2019t want deskless workers to feel left out or ignored when they asked if it would be possible for them too.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf I had just said to all the people who were asking, \u2018Look, we investigated it 10 years ago, it doesn\u2019t work, let it go,\u2019 that just doesn\u2019t fly,\u201d said Peterson. So they investigated it again.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n First, management looked at the current schedules for their 450 factory workers. They had a day shift, which worked eight-hour shifts, Monday to Friday,\u00a0and a night shift, which worked nine-hour shifts Monday to Thursday and a four hour shift on Friday. \u201cWe like to get our second shift home on Friday nights at 6pm,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Their best chance at a four-day workweek, Petersen thought, was moving to four 10-hour shifts per week \u2014\u00a0with some employees working Monday to Thursday and others Tuesday to Friday.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n They ran into a few problems. First, no one wanted the Tuesday to Friday shift, but O.C. Tanner needed Fridays covered because they ship product five days a week. Second, the day and night shift typically overlapped by 10 minutes. \u201cThere\u2019s not enough equipment that I could run a shift another two hours,\u201d he said. Asking workers on the night shift to stay an hour later wasn\u2019t well received either. Trying to shift to a four-day workweek also affected overtime options, and meant people would be coming in on a fifth day anyway.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There were also safety concerns with having workers stretch to 10-hour workdays. \u201cIt\u2019s a physical job. We\u2019re on our feet, we\u2019re working, we\u2019re handling products, and it takes a physical toll,\u201d he said. The company already knew that on the ninth hour of night shift work, \u201cwe really have to be mindful of safety and ergonomics,\u201d he said. \u201cGoing another hour beyond that, I\u2019d be worried about everybody\u2019s safety.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n After two months of trying, they went back to their previous system.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But Peterson doesn\u2019t think it was a waste of effort. Workers appreciated that management listened to their request, and put hours into trying to map out alternative work schedules. When they saw it wasn\u2019t working, for both the sake of the company or their own safety, they knew at least their bosses had listened, and tried.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n That sends a clear message about company culture, said Jessica Kriegel, chief scientist of workplace culture at Culture Partners, and that a company is willing listen to employee concerns and try something different. \u201cInnovation is failing fast. If you don\u2019t fail fast, you\u2019re never innovating, and obviously they\u2019ve done something innovative,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n While not the right situation for a business like O.C. Tanner, companies can also try other kinds of work arrangements for employees who need to be on-site, without needing to reinvent the wheel. \u201cThe four-day workweek is one model. It\u2019s arbitrary,\u201d she said. Nurses, firefighters and flight attendants already work schedules where they\u2019re on and off a specific number of days, and could be used for other kinds of essential or in-person jobs, where appropriate.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n For any company in a similar situation who wants to try a four-day workweek or some other kind of work-hour arrangement, Peterson said, \u201cLook before you leap.\u201d Managers should understand the logistics of such changes, and whether or not shifting when workers work will affect business demands. \u201cIt\u2019s worth looking at,\u201d he added, and that in a lot of ways, flexibility is \u201ca new kind of cash. It\u2019s what people want. They want to feel there\u2019s flexibility.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nGiving the four-day workweek a try<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
The value of trying something new<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n