How we helped Home Instead transition to a Four Day Work Week and find their Good Place.

In 2019 we were approached by Brisbane based company Home Instead, a leading provider of in-home care services for seniors. The forward thinking owners, Myles and Gin Beaufort, were looking to trial a four day work week for their management team, who look after 120 employees.

By engaging a business anthropologist and researching other businesses around the world that had successfully made the transition, they understood that mindfulness training for their team was key to enabling reduced work hours, without compromising on productivity or impacting the bottom line.

Their goals for our training were:

Increasing team focus and productivity
Reducing absenteeism and presenteeism
Improving team cohesiveness, workplace culture and morale
Supporting staff’s mental health and wellbeing

The Solution:

Myles and Gin were keen to expedite results, so we started with an in-person intensive ‘Introduction to Mindfulness’ half day workshop, delivered to their team over several small group sessions.

These workshops introduced the team to the theory and neuroscience of mindfulness, but were largely interactive and immediately armed them with practical tools they could implement in the workplace and in their home lives.

We Covered:

Building mental resilience, managing stress and maintaining high level functionality in high pressure environments.
Strategies to boost productivity and performance, including the mindful use of technology.
Cultivating emotional intelligence and compassionate leadership.

The initial in-person sessions were followed up with weekly virtual 30 minute practical mindfulness meditation sessions, delivered via Zoom, to maintain benefits.

They Found Their Good Place - The Results

So what benefits have Home Instead seen since introducing our mindfulness program?

Well, within 2 months of commencing the program they had successfully transitioned to a 32 hour week, which they’ve now been following for more than 12 months.

During this time the business has seen a massive cultural change. The team is happier and more productive, teamwork and morale have improved and there is a stronger sense of empathy, compassion and even community, despite team members working remotely.

According to Myles and Gin, the atmosphere and energy has completely changed; the staff say “ they have their lives back”.

And despite reduced working hours, this financial year has actually seen an increase in profits of 22%, up from 8% for the previous financial year.

Overall productivity has improved by 40%: they are doing 20% more in 20% less time.

Sick days were down 70% on the previous year.

In fact, the 4-day work week has been such a success that Myles and Gin have been engaged by the Queensland Government to advise on the feasibility and benefits of a reduced work week.

The Good Place has continued to provide weekly virtual sessions to the Home Instead team during Covid-19 to help them navigate the challenges of the current working climate and assist with building mental resilience and emotional wellbeing.

TESTIMONIAL

“We couldn’t have made the transition to a four day work week without Ray’s guidance and expertise. Since working with The Good Place we’ve not only seen a measurable increase in productivity, workflow and profit, but more importantly, we’ve seen a huge improvement in workplace culture and our team’s mental wellbeing”.

- Myles Beaufort (Owner, Home Instead)

Case Study: The Four Day Work Week