Page 7 - BusinessWest January 8, 2024

“Everyone has certain days that they’re remote every week, but if something comes up and they
have to change it, we’re totally flexible to that because everyone has a different lifestyle.”
and they’re taking 100 calls a day, and that’s what you expect from them, when they go to a four-day work week, we’re still expecting them to take 500 phone calls.”
But the tradeoff — more work in less time for that three-day weekend — has been enthusiastically accepted.
“Everyone has a three-day weekend, which has improved morale exponentially and improved work-life balance for everyone,” Sambor said. “The positivity in the office and the energy have com- pletely changed.”
Long agreed.
“One thing we have really noticed is the attitude of the employ- ees in the office is so much more positive,” he told BusinessWest. “People seem to more energized, more excited — they tell stories about what they did on their day off.”
And while the new system is set and now policy at Axia, this is still a learning process, he noted, adding the company has “stubbed its toe” a few times, but there’s been nothing to make it second- guess this huge decision.
Remote Possibilities
That same sentiment seems to apply to the companies that have fully embraced remote work and hybrid schedules.
Giombetti introduced remote work before the pandemic, said O’Neil, adding that it works with clients across the country, many of whom it simply cannot meet in person.
“While some companies were forced into remote work and a virtual workspace, we were honing it,” he explained, adding that such arrangements work for clients and employees alike.
Especially the four-and-a-half-day workweek, which has been in place for several years now, he said, and helps employees as they seek to achieve work-life balance.
As for the clients Giombetti is working with, many are doing some honing of their own when it comes to policies regarding where and how people work.
Like the managers at Axia, O’Neil said that, as companies look to embrace different schedules and policies, the best course is to effectively communicate with employees and job candidates alike
Amy Rob- erts says employees at Peoples- Bank have come to appreciate an orga- nization that allows them some flexibility.
BusinessWest
<< FEATURE >>
JANUARY 8, 2024 7
about what they should expect — and what is expected of them. “This could include, but is not limited to, goals, core hours
of work, mandatory meetings, mandatory check-ins, and what it means to maintain their corporate culture, too,” he said. “Every company had an identity before they went remote and hybrid, and now you add to that the complexity of remote workers and hybrid workers, and they have
to think of creative ways to preserve the culture
Remote
Continued on page 42
>>