More than four months into testing a shorter workweek, executives at Oregon Community Credit Union in Eugene are seeing employees hit key milestones far sooner than they expected.
The $3.5 billion-asset OCCU first considered the prospect of a four-day workweek within the call center back in January, as rising levels of stress and a growing number of employees consistently calling out sick left the division understaffed. Due to a surge in calls made by members
Employees were given a paid, predetermined day off each week as part of the program, as well as a wage adjustment to ensure that gross wages for the eight-hour shifts still matched what staffers would make if they worked a full 40-hour week.
Since its
"We are seeing what we were hoping to see [in] that the mental health of those employees would increase … instead of having to have those mental health days where they call out unexpectedly," said Tracey Keffer, chief operating officer for OCCU.
Keffer explained that despite the initial positive results, executives are hesitant to rule the pilot a success, and are continuing to closely monitor employee performance.
"People ask why don't we make it permanent now, and the answer is because we're still very much in the honeymoon period. … Four months is long enough for us to see it's working, but it's also short enough for us to still ask if this is sustainable," Keffer said.
OCCU is
Twenty-four percent of employers attributed the lack of flexibility in work schedules as a top reason for employee attrition, according to an
But workforce experts say that a four-day workweek is not a "one size fits all" approach to solving the underlying problem of employee fatigue.
Benjamin Laker, a professor of leadership at the University of Reading's Henley Business School in the United Kingdom, explained that for industries such as health care — where a unilateral day off isn't feasible — allowing employees a higher degree of autonomy in how they schedule their work can have the same intended effect of relieving tension.
"Because of the connotations and the implementation of a four-day workweek being quite difficult, we then started to consider other alternatives. … We felt that the cry for a four-day week wasn't necessarily for a four-day week, but rather it was a cry for autonomy and flexibility," Laker said.
Laker emphasized that for these programs to be truly effective, employers need to listen to employee concerns and build frameworks from the bottom up.
"This is the danger of the application of a four-day workweek for all: You are still telling employees what's best for them by mandating the size and the structure of their work," Laker said. "If you're telling employees that the five-day workweek doesn't fit them, why would also then telling them an alternative version [is more beneficial] make any difference?"
Pending the final results of the campaign nine months from now, the credit union will explore instituting similar schedules in departments such as collections and other high-stress areas.
