Most rural municipalities in Canada have started experimenting with a four-day workweek to attract and retain more talent, as well as to combat the high rates of employees leaving their positions due to work pressure.

Last week, the town of Algonquin Highlands in Ontario announced that it will permanently switch to a four-day workweek with eight hours per day. Other Ontario municipalities that have done the same include Aylmer, Zorra, French River, and Springwater.

These measures come as a way for municipalities to remain competitive within this sector, as they compete to attract talent with the private sector and therefore must seek innovative ways to create an attractive environment for employees.

It is also worth noting that in four-day workweek experiments in the United States and Ireland, employees reported lower levels of stress, fatigue, and burnout, along with improvements in mental health, while company revenues increased at the same time.

When the Zorra municipality in Ontario implemented the four-day workweek experiment, employees were able to work longer hours during the day.

It is worth mentioning that the experiment has not yet extended to municipalities in major cities, as it requires a lot of coordination with various departments, and union representation is higher there. Union contracts may provide a barrier to some of the changes intended to be made in the general environment.