Saint John to introduce four-day work week, city offices to close on Fridays
The City of Saint John is introducing a four-day compressed work week for most employees, following unanimous approval from city councillors.
The change will take effect Oct. 17 and will see most municipal offices closed Friday through Sunday.
The city says morning and evening hours will be extended at its Customer Service Centre and One Stop Development Shop, Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The current hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Specific municipal services and facilities, including the City Market, recreational locations, public works, transit, and parking enforcement will continue to operate as usual, according to city manager John Collin.
“We’ve gone this way because we’re focused on helping our employees with the best possible work conditions,” says Collin.
The compressed work week plan is part of a one-year pilot project for an unspecified number of employees. Collin says compressed work week policies from around the world were researched beforehand with a focus on employee recruitment and retention.
“The literature is very clear,” says Collin. “Almost everybody without exception has said that it has been beneficial and they wish they would’ve done it years ago. I’m quite optimistic we’ll get the same result.”
Several other four-day trial and pilot projects are reporting success.
The world’s largest UK-based four-day work week experiment, which includes approximately 3,300 workers across 70 different companies, is showing positive results at its halfway point.
The CEO of a Toronto tech company says early-results from their company’s four-day work week trial, which began in June for 500 employees, has shown employees are “clearly happier.”
Four-day work week trials are also underway in Quispamsis, Riverview, and Sackville.
The City of Saint John says people shouldn’t notice any other changes to service, other than different hours at its Customer Service Centre and One Stop Development Shop.
“I think it’s good, but it’s going to be a lot of paperwork to condition people that Friday’s are going to be closed,” says Janice Buckley.
“Most stuff is done online now,” says Amanda Beckham. “And honestly, how often do you go to those offices? Maybe once every 10 years.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
It could take years to catch up on child vaccinations in Ontario post-pandemic
Ontario is still playing catch up on routine vaccinations that many children missed during the pandemic and public health officials are warning that it could take years to solve the problem.