A shift towards flexible work arrangements – often called flexi-time – including a rethink of the traditional 40-hour workweek, could significantly improve workplace wellness and reduce employee stress in Barbados, a management expert has suggested.
Flexi-time allows employees to vary when and sometimes where they work, while still completing the required hours and duties, instead of sticking rigidly to a fixed 9-to-5 schedule.
Professor Dwayne Devonish of the University of the West Indies told an online discussion on workplace wellness that lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic should shape how businesses approach employee wellbeing moving forward.
He said the pandemic exposed “the fragility of human life” and reinforced the importance of health and wellness across all industries. He also pointed to Barbados’ ongoing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), noting that stronger wellness policies could help address the issue.
“If you think about it, within the last six years, we had three major developments,” he said. “One, we had a COVID-19 pandemic…[which] underscored the importance of health and wellness across the sectors.”
Changing workforce demographics were also influencing workplace expectations, particularly among younger workers, he added.
“A lot of the younger people, the Gen Zs as we call them, they’re going into the organisation and they’re prioritising health and wellness over salary,” Professor Devonish said. “It’s different from the Gen Xs and the older generation.”
According to the management and organisational behaviour specialist, many small businesses mistakenly believe workplace wellness programmes are too costly to implement. However, he stressed that even modest adjustments could make a significant difference.
“It doesn’t have to be an expensive undertaking,” he said. “We’re not asking you to implement all types of wellness initiatives all at once. It can be incremental and according to your capacity as a small business.”
Among the simpler measures he recommended were flexible schedules and remote work options to help employees better balance work and home responsibilities.
“If you have a small team, encouraging flexibility [and] remote working… allows them to manage the load of home and the load of work,” he said, adding that there were “a lot of low-hanging fruit” businesses could adopt.
Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Faye Prescod, agreed that alternative work arrangements should remain part of national discussions.
Prescod recalled that Prime Minister Mia Mottley had previously raised the idea of restructuring the standard workweek.
“She said one time ‘any 40’,” Prescod explained, referring to proposals where employees could work four 10-hour days instead of the traditional five-day schedule. “They’re thinking about 40, but not necessarily how it is structured right now.”
Prof Devonish noted that several European countries had already piloted four-day work weeks with positive results. He also questioned whether the long-established 40-hour model was still the most effective approach.
“Who’s to say that a 40-hour work week is the best work week?” he asked. “That was something inspired by Henry Ford in the US…who’s to say that we can’t do something different?”
Prescod added that while remote work proved beneficial during the pandemic, some employers still remain sceptical about productivity outside the office.
“I love working at home two days a week and coming in the office only three days a week,” she said. “But I think that there’s still some employers who don’t think that you do any work when you’re at home.”
The Public Service formally introduced a Flexible Work Arrangement Policy in 2020 that offers options such as flexi-time, compressed workweeks, staggered hours, and telecommuting for thousands of public officers.
Under these guidelines, officers on flexi-time can choose start and end times within agreed limits but must still work the mandatory hours and be present during core hours set by their ministry.
(SB)
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