When asked why he’d made the switch to a four-day work week, John Findlay, CEO of digital growth platform LemonadeLXP, put it simply.
“If we gave everybody a four-day work week, we’d be giving them a three-day weekend,” Findlay said.
LemonadeLXP is based in Ottawa and trains banking staff on using digital products and digital banking. Findlay said the COVID-19 pandemic inspired the shift in work schedule.
“We moved to remote work and we noticed everybody was still efficient,” he said.
Employees at LemonadeLXP are paid on a salary basis, meaning working fewer hours throughout the week does not reduce anyone’s pay. It has now been two years since Findlay made the switch and he said he expects the company to continue growing in all areas.
“We’re one of the trailblazers here,” Findlay said. He added that he hopes more businesses will do the same.
Four-day work weeks seem to be enticing for many and LemonadeLXP might just represent a soon-to-come popular change in Canadian business. According to opinion research published by the Angus Reid Institute in June 2020, half of Canadians support shorter work weeks—a trend that’s only increased as the pandemic continues on.
In 2020, the Angus Reid Institute reported lower income households are the demographic most in support of shortening work weeks with 64 per cent in support. Conversely, the least amount of support comes from those with incomes more than $150,000 per year, at 47 per cent.
Conservative voters are the most hesitant demographic, according to the report.
“This group is most likely to say that shortening the work week is an ill-conceived idea, 40 per cent feel this way, while past Liberal and NDP voters voice support at a proportion of two-thirds,” the report reads.
The Ontario Liberal Party has proposed a four-day work week pilot project in their Plan for Economic Dignity published last month. The party states the move “could boost quality of life, work-life balance and much needed relief without a loss in productivity.”
While it seems more and more Canadian workers believe a schedule change in the workplace could provide benefits, the switch to a four-day work week might come with some concerns.
White collar jobs and privilege
Adam King, a social-economic policy researcher at the Canadian Labour Congress, said there could be potential trouble that could arise from the switch to a shorter work week.
“For the most part, four-day work weeks have been either piloted or studied only in the context of white collar, professional workplaces, usually office work,” King said. “There hasn’t been too much, if anything really, in places that are more blue collar.”
King said because of this, the four-day work week might only become a privilege to more high-paying, white collar jobs, while workers at the other end of the labour market won’t be treated as well.
It’s no surprise, King said, that those who earn less are in more support for reduced working hours.
“In general, they’re probably working quite a few hours above the average,” he said.
Another major concern is having the ability to negotiate for reduced hours, King said.
“It’s awfully difficult to do that on an individual basis, unless workers are represented by a union,” he said.
Without a union, workers can’t democratically negotiate their working conditions, King explained. On their own, most workers don’t have the bargaining power to make those negotiations, as they’re always competing with other workers who may be willing to work more.
In Canada, about a third of all workers are unionized, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which makes up around four million Canadian workers.
Pandemic wake-up call
While there are equity concerns, some experts are more optimistic than others.
Jim Stanford, a Canadian economist and director of Centre for Future Work, said he likes the idea of a four-day work week and that there’s a good chance it could set a new precedent for other businesses.
“I think the pandemic, in all of its stresses, was a wake up call for many Canadians,” Stanford said. “I do think there’s gonna be a lot of interest in this idea.”
A four-day work week is one of many ways to make a worker’s life better, Stanford said. He mentioned reduced working hours and more vacation time as two other options as well.
According to the Government of Canada, currently Canadian workers are granted 14 working days of vacation time for every year they work. After 10 consecutive years with their employer, vacation increases to four weeks.
In Germany, employees who work six days a week are entitled to an annual paid vacation of 24 working days. If an employee only works four days a week, they still get a vacation of 20 working days.
In Belgium, it’s about the same. After a year of full-time employment, a worker can see up to 24 paid days off if they work six days a week and 20 days off if they work five.
Other countries are doing more. According to Globalization Partners, most workers in Afghanistan get 20 days off work, while still getting paid each year. If they’re younger than 18 years old, that number increases to 25 days.
In Argentina, anyone who’s worked for an employer for more than six months gets two weeks of paid time off. Those two weeks can be extended up to a maximum of five weeks, so long as the worker stays with their employer for long enough.
Commuting and environmental impact
In terms of reduced working hours or additional days off, Stanford said the latter would still be the better choice, since it would mean less commuting to work.
Prior to the pandemic, personal motor vehicles were the most common mode of transportation to work, according to Statistics Canada. In 2019, one quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions came from transportation.
Working from home—or decreasing the amount of daily commuters—could mean a reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions of about 8.6 megatonnes of carbon dioxide. That represents more than a fifth of all direct greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian households in 2015 and more than a tenth of their emissions due to transportation that year.
Other companies who have switched to a four-day work week noted some positive environmental benefits too.
April is the one-year mark since Situra Inc., a manufacturing company based in Toronto, implemented four-day work weeks.
Karen Stephenson, one of Situra’s employees, said travelling less has not only helped the company save money but has also significantly reduced its carbon footprint.
“The four-day week has really allowed us to think about how we’re structuring the four days we are actually working,” said Chauntelle Facey, Situra’s marketing director.
During the time that Situra has made the switch to four-day work weeks, Facey said they’ve had the chance to learn how to be more productive.
Now, productivity isn’t an issue for them, according to Situra’s account manager, Wali Majd.
“In terms of sales, we’re a lot more productive,” Majd said. “We started [four-day work weeks] in 2021 and we were able to reach our sales target by our third quarter, which is a 20 per cent increase for us.”
Much like LemonadeLXP, employees at Situra are paid on a salary basis, and don’t need to work more hours a day to compensate for the four-day work week.
Quality, home time
While a four-day work week for all workers in Canada may not be here yet, workers whose employers have made the switch say they’re reaping the benefits.
Both Majd and Stephenson said the most important part about bettering their work-life balance with a four-day work week was quality time with those they care about.
For Stephenson, she spoke about spending time with her daughter, who’s been doing remote learning since the pandemic started.
“When I’m off, I get to monitor what goes on [in my daughter’s life]. Plus, it’s also my day to relax, but you get to do what you want and you look forward to it.You go back to work refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to start again,” Stephenson said.
Extra time off refreshes the employees at Situra to come back to work feeling energized, according to Majd.
“I’m a new dad,” Majd said. “Having that extra day gives me more time with my family, with my kid. I’m able to attend his swimming lessons now.”
Featured graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
