Ontario CEO tests four-day work week for employees, says she won't go back
The founder of an Ontario company that tested out a four-day work week for her employees says she will never go back to working a full week.
Jamie Savage, CEO and founder of Toronto-based recruitment company The Leadership Agency, implemented a four-day full work week for employees in October 2020.
Savage said she noticed during the pandemic that her employees were burnt-out and she wanted to help them improve their quality of life.
Jamie Savage, CEO and founder of Toronto-based recruitment company The Leadership Agency, implemented a four-day full work week for employees in October 2020. (Supplied)
"We needed to make some changes," Savage told CTV News Toronto Wednesday. "I thought, why don’t we just do a four-day work week. Let’s try it."
Savage said her nine employees still receive the same pay and number of vacation days per year.
"The truth is that it was instantly impactful on our business," she said. "The immediate impact was their wellbeing."
Savage said her employees were using the extra time off to relax, attend fitness classes or even attend therapy sessions.
She said the result was that her employees came to work feeling less overwhelmed and were able to carry out their job much more efficiently.
Savage said she understands many companies fear implementing a four-day work week out of fear of loss productivity, but ultimately the benefits outweigh the risks for her company.
She said her employees are happier, more productive and are not leaving for other companies.
"It's not necessarily doable for everyone," she admits, adding that it would be hard in certain industries.
She says for her company, the benefit of the four-day work week "outweighs everything else in the end."
"The fact that we are able to do this means a lot of other companies can to. The more that we share and talk about it will help encourage other companies as well."
When asked if Savage would ever consider going back to a traditional five-day work week, her answer is pretty clear.
"Never," she said. "We're even looking at ways to further enhance our employee wellbeing. I will make it my mission to continue to set us apart from the rest."
Iceland made news earlier this year after sharing the result of a study into shorter work weeks.
Researchers found that working fewer hours per week for the same pay was an "overwhelming success."
The trials run by Reykjavík City Council and the national government saw worker wellbeing "dramatically" increase across a range of indicators, from perceived stress and burnout, to health and work-life balance.
Researchers found that productivity and services stayed the same or improved across the majority of workplaces.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
A child killer legally changed his name in B.C. The province is trying to stop that from happening again
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Next 48 hours will be 'extremely challenging' for B.C. wildfire crews near Fort Nelson: officials
A wildfire burning dangerously close to Fort Nelson, B.C., has grown to more than 50 square kilometres, and officials are warning that the blaze's behaviour is expected to become more volatile over the next 48 hours.