Markham
July 24, 2008 07:49 PM
By: Yentl Lieuw
Thirty employees at a Markham business get to work one day less a week to save gas and time while making the same salary.
“One of my assistants commutes 50 kilometres to the office,” LSM life insurance company president Lorne Marr said.
“Instead, the traditional nine-to-five shift becomes an eight-to-six job.”
Mr. Marr believes a shorter work week reduces fuel costs, increases family time and improves employee morale.
“In some way, they work more during the four days, since they’re being more productive,” Mr. Marr said. “Our company is based on salary and bonus pay, so they can actually make more money off the bonus pay by being more focused and working harder.”
Mr. Marr came up with the idea because of skyrocketing gas prices.
“The employees choose which day they’d like off, which is usually Friday,” Mr. Marr said. “As long as they get their work done, it doesn’t matter to me which day they take off.
“I think more companies, sooner or later, will start doing this,” he said. “The bigger companies, like IBM, can’t do it as easily since they can’t really think outside the box. They have more channels to go through, more people to consult with to make a decision like this.”
The move, which began in May, has gained the John Street company media exposure, as business co-ordinator Elisabeth Prosper was interviewed on CBC radio last week.
“I have to work harder and be more focused when I am at work,” Ms. Prosper said on the show. “But I love the extra day to be with my family and spend time with friends. Isn’t that what life’s supposed to be about?”
After the interview, Mr. Marr read comments on the CBC website saying, “Way to go” or “I wish my company would do that”.
Check out
www.lsminsurance.ca to learn more about the company.