2. SEJ Webinar, 21.9.23
Joe O’Connor, WTRCoE Director &
Co-founder

3. 1817
1926
1930
1956
2015

5. Why a shorter working week?
Wellbeing and
Burnout
Recruitment and Retention
Productivity and Engagement

6. GENUINE WORK TIME REDUCTION
COMMITMENT TO MAINTAINING OUTPUT
FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE TO HOW WE WORK
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY A SHORTER WORKING WEEK?
NOT COMPRESSED HOURS
NOT INPUTS
SAME WORK, SAME WAY, LESS TIME

7. It doesn’t always mean your close on Fridays
It doesn’t always mean a 3-day weekend
It’s not impossible if you bill by the hour
MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

10. SOURCE
@WORKTIMEREDUCTIONCENTEROFEXCELLENCE

11. THE SHORTER WORKING WEEK IS
ALREADY HERE, BURIED UNDER
THE RUBBLE OF…
• Poorly run, overlong and unnecessary meetings
• Distractions and interruptions
• Poor use of technology
• Outdated, inefficient processes

12. Incentive to drive employee
engagement and motivation

13. COLLECTIVE PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY
High Performers
VS
Coasters

14. WTR & AI CAN ACCELERATE EACH OTHER

15. FUTURE VISION
MARKET LEADERS OF TOMORROW WILL:
• Embrace technology
• Optimize productivity
• Attract and retain best talent based on offering greater quality of life
• Have a differentiated employee proposition
BE AHEAD OF THE CURVE

23. The Surprise of the 4 day week
Tessa Ohlendorf
Managing Director, Media.Monks

24. How Did This all Start??

25. 2021: Just how big was the turnover
issue?
9000+ people X 12-35%+ Turnover….
= Massive revenue impact

26. Women in the workforce…
…. the weight of the pandemic on working families

27. STAY FOCUSED!
Replace fear with measurement, objectivity and vision
48 days off
a year?? X
57 people??

28. Proprietary & Confidential 28
Media.Monks
● 10 people on the CA media team (In the Future of Work Pilot)
○ 0% turnover in 29 months
● 8 people in non CA hub (no pilot)
○ 40% turnover in 18 months
● 10 people on content in NAMER (no pilot)
○ 30% in 17 months
Turnover erodes client relationships and taxes employees with extra work, the media team was able to
provide a high level of service, and solve more client business challenges because they understood what
the client business really needed - having tenure and focus on the account.
Anonymized Client Case Study: Large Canadian Brand
Wow that is truly
incredibleç
- Our client

29. Proprietary & Confidential 29
Media.Monks
Results - What people are doing

30. Where We are Now
- Vacations
- Manager support
- Internal consulting
Year 3
Still learning
making an impact
& driving results

31. Here is what our people are saying
about it….

32. Contact me:
Tessa Ohlendorf
Managing Director, Media.Monks
Linkedin
tessa.ohlendorf@mediamonks.com

33. Surprising Benefits
- Retention
- Day to day focus
- Client benefits
Voluntary turnover rates for the pilot:
2020- 1%
2021- 4%
2022 - 1%
2023- 2%
Agency turnover is typically in the
20-35% range with some shops
seeing as low as 12-15% and some
upwards of 40%.

34. So what’s next for us?
We have 9000+ people globally, and this seems
to work!
….So what’s the hold up?

35. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the nuts
and bolts …
…but what about the impact on people?

36. INSERT VIDEO HERE

40. 🤔 Why did
we do it?
● Burnout, turnover
● A motivational “carrot” for
operational excellence
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

41. 󰥟 What we
implemented
● Goal-focused: 100%
productivity, 100% pay, 80%
time
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon
● 6-month trial
● Test run “Summer Fridays”

42. 🔑 Keys to
success
● Continuous feedback loop to
staff-led committee
● Experimental mindset:
you’re not going to get it right
on day 1 (or day 1000)
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

44. Skepticism Meetings Burnout Boundaries
Time
Management Client Needs
Parity Optics
(Contractors, Hourly
Workers, FT)
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

45. News
Coverage
Pre-Existing
Friday Deadlines
Ooops!
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

47. 🚀 Continued
Productivity
● Maintaining production during
trial with same headcount
○ Post trial 95% of staff say
productivity is the same or
better
● Clients did not notice
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

48. 󰩓🤸Better
Employee
Wellness
● Stress < 15%
● Mental health > 19%
● Work/Life balance > 41%
● Employee retention
improved by 61%
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

49. ⏳ Better
Efficiency
● Adopting asynchronous
communication (voice
memos, Loom)
● Meetings serve a purpose
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

50. “It helped significantly reduce burnout, and I feel like
the quality and consistency of the work I produce has
gone up.”
“I don't know if I could ever return to a 5DWW after
this experience.”
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

52. 📊 Consistent
Monitoring &
Feedback
● Viewed more as a program
than a benefit
● Annual renewal
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

53. 🗓 4DWW
Committee
Made
Permanent
Committee evaluates
feedback and implements
solutions
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon

54. 📊🚀 Continued
Enhancements/
Evolvement
● Constantly evaluating
meetings
● Utilizing AI to be more
efficient
● Evaluating time-off
structure
Jenise Uehara & Elizabeth Harmon