Should HRM follow Guysborough’s lead and explore a four-day work week?

The pilot program that has Guysborough town employees doing four-day work weeks post-COVID has other parts of the world buzzing.

Though no official plans are in the works in HRM to do the same, companies like SimplyCast have staff now working from home, and globally Twitter is doing the same.

The way people do work – and their productivity – was put to the test during at-home work days to contain virus spread, and Deputy Mayor Lisa Blackburn likes the idea for HRM.

“Rural municipalities were in rough shape before COVID-19, and it put them in a hard spot. Creative thinking is the mother of invention, and they found a way to help through it,” said the District 14, Beaverbank representative.

“We see it in New Zealand and Finland, and now Guysborough. It’s a pretty cool idea. It’s like with working from home. For years companies wouldn’t go down that path,” she said.

“But the fear of staff not being as productive has been proven false. In the last three months, staff have been shown to be every bit as, or more, productive.”

She says COVID has caused us to rethink how we work, and in Guysborough’s case, that moved the employees to four-day work weeks.

“Flexibility will be key to recovering the economy, and we definitely should rethink the regular workday. Many employees may even rethink careers and wonder if five days a week are needed,” she said.

“Guysborough had two teams – A and B – working different shifts, and now people get four-day weeks and services for the municipality actually are able to be accessed more each week.”

Guysborough CAO Barry Carroll was 10 minutes out from a call with the BBC about the four-day work week pilot program when he was reached by HalifaxToday. He can’t believe the town has “gone viral.”

“This is the one-week anniversary of when we started, and there are a lot of smiling faces. This has been received very well here,” he said.

“People are working fewer days, but the same hours they were over four days. On Friday alone, I booked a car appointment and took my wife for lunch. It’s an extra day to do things and spend more dollars.”

He said they were one of few municipal offices that stayed staffed during COVID. Though the building was closed, people went in two days on, two days off in two teams.

“It just worked so well. There was so much efficiency, and more tasks were getting done. People were doing tasks they normally wouldn’t, and the Prime Minister discussed four-day weeks anyway,” he said.

“We just thought, ‘maybe we can do this.’ It seems like it’s working out pretty well so far.”

HRM Mayor Mike Savage conveyed that plans for a four-day work week here have not been something he’s fully thought about.

“I have not formed a view of a four-day work week at this time and would need to fully understand the views of municipal employees and the delivery of programs and services,” he wrote in an emailed statement.

While Blackburn says the CAO hasn’t discussed this as something for HRM’s own employees, council recently passed a motion allowing employees to adopt more flexible work styles.

“The motion was made long before COVID. It’s extremely timely, and in the framework of reorganizing and giving employees flexibility, HRM staff have proven productive,” she said.

“It’s a brilliant idea, but we’d need to ensure all employees were on board. I think initially of parents with small kids or people relying on transit. I think of how a longer work day may affect them,” she said.

“These are just all things that must be discussed with employees, and any plans struck must be right for them.”