Three-day weekends are back for the summer for employees at one of Cayman’s big-five accountancy firms, signalling longevity to a post-COVID trend of offering employees better work-life balance.
Grant Thornton piloted the policy last year, giving employees the option of taking Fridays off throughout July and August.
Describing the initiative as a ‘resounding success’, the company announced plans to repeat the policy during the slower summer months this year.
“This initiative forms an essential part of the firm’s ongoing mission to promote wellness and maintain work-life balance among its talented workforce,” a spokesperson for the company said in a press release.
Four-day work week trials are taking place all over the globe, though Grant Thornton is the only Cayman company to have publicly announced plans for a shorter week, and only for two months in the summer.
A major four-day work week trial in the UK brought largely positive results with many firms moving to a shorter week on a full-time basis.
Grant Thornton has no current plans to follow suit, but believes its summer initiative is having an impact on both staff and clients.
“We are delighted to bring back the popular summer four-day working week policy,” said Dara Keogh, managing partner of Grant Thornton Cayman Islands.
“This opportunity offers our hard-working team the chance to pursue hobbies, explore travel, or simply rest and rejuvenate. Last year’s positive impact demonstrated that this initiative empowers our people to improve their work-life balance, ultimately enhancing wellbeing and job satisfaction.”
Keogh said the response last year had been ‘overwhelmingly positive’ from both staff, clients and the wider community.
The UK trial, involving 60 companies in the latter half of 2022, demonstrated the viability of a shorter week for certain types of business.
More than 90% of participating companies opted to continue with the four-day week, with 18 adopting it permanently.
The majority of employers who took part in the project say they’ve seen productivity levels maintained, and improvements in staff retention and well-being.
Business revenue stayed broadly the same; there was a 65% reduction in the number of sick days and 71% of employees reported lower levels of burnout, according to the World Economic Forum.
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