The Australian branch of global financial services behemoth Deloitte has recently announced a dynamic policy that includes a permanent eradication of the traditional 9-5 work week.
Under this novel “flex” work policy that was announced in a company-wide email on Wednesday, Deloitte employees are empowered to design their own work week. They have been granted the freedom to choose their working hours on their own.
12 New Flex Working Policies
All combined there are 12 “new flex rules. It also includes employees getting one paid off-day for their mental and physical welfare. The employees also have the option to exchange public holidays for their cultural and religious days.
Many paid off-day options are available to Deloitte Australia employees who “support local communities” by activities like donating blood, helping NGOs/NPOs or volunteering for emergency services across Australia.
Manager Max Dedekind, 29, of Sydney, is already making good use of the policy by going surfing during his lunch break, reported news outlet newscomau.
“You have to line things up a bit more than a sport such as running when you can go at any time. It’s great to be able to work flexibly”, he said.
Trust On The Staff Members
Deloitte’s Chief HR Officer, Tina McCreery, says that the company’s move to suspend the 9-5 working hours was only made possible because they trusted the employees of the firm.
“Many offices have forced their workers to spend 60 percent time at the office (but) we decided not to do that and trust our staff,” she said to a leading Australian business outlet.
She also added “For us it is about results. If they bring in what they need to do from their job, there is no problem at all about the location and timings of their work then. ”
Work-Life Balance
Employees still have to keep records of time sheets especially in order to be able to charge the clients and inform the HR for hours spent at work.
Mrs. McCreery is also a mother of three and plans to take advantage of the new working arrangements announced by the company.
When inquired if these new policies were bad for young workers just starting out in the industry, Ms McCreery disagreed.
“Part of our culture is communication,” she shared.
“This (policy) isn’t just designed for parents, it’s designed for all of our people.”
Deloitte unveiled a series of changes after an international study found that women were badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of their job and personal life balance.