Navigating work-life balance policy changes

Let's look at a case study so we can better understand how changes and work-life balance policy can make dramatic and concrete impacts. I consult with companies to help them navigate this new world, in which flexible work has become much more mainstream. Companies need to operate in an increasingly complex environment where flexibility and work-life balance need to be reconciled with company needs. In this case study, a global media client with more than 20,000 staff based across several locations and timezones faced a dilemma. The pandemic opened up discussions about the four-day work week. Staff were excited by this new radical idea, but leadership we worried that staff wouldn't be in the office on the same days. They were worried about how staff would be able to stay in sync and a culture of collaboration could be maintained. The company tested out a voluntary program where workers experimented with the four-day work week. Some staff worked for 50 minutes extra every day and took every other Friday off. Others worked for 30 minutes longer each day and took every Friday off. The main rule was that everybody had to take the same day, a Friday off. What this meant was that even though people signed up for different programs, everybody was synced Monday to Thursday. The program worked well. Those that wanted more flexibility stopped working Fridays. Those that wanted to keep a five-day week at Friday as a no-meeting day in which they could prioritize focused work. In-person and in-sync meetings and collaboration were compressed into a Monday to Thursday rhythm and the policy only took a few weeks to implement. Staff now say that they cannot imagine going back to the old way of working. The effects were felt beyond the company. Their suppliers all learned not to schedule meetings on Fridays, and some started to talk about implementing this policy themselves, or at the very least, experimented with a focused Friday policy.