Climate Resolve recently launched a 36-hour workweek pilot program to improve our team’s work-life balance. As we emerged from the pandemic, our team’s ambition grew, leading us to take on a diverse array of projects across policy, legislative, planning, and implementation work. Climate Resolve builds coalitions for change, prioritizing innovative projects with practical solutions that bring joy and resilience to our team and the communities we serve. In the same spirit of innovation and focusing on cultivating a culture that values mental, physical, and emotional well-being, we tested a reduced workweek to give our team more personal time.

Studies show a reduced workweek can lead to lower stress, better mental and physical health, less burnout, improved morale, and employee retention. We wanted to offer these benefits to our team while continuing to foster a work environment that supports well-being and productivity, enabling us to be at our best as we advance climate resilience initiatives in our communities.

We chose to pilot a 36-hour workweek instead of immediately transitioning to 32 hours, allowing us to ease into the process while fine-tuning strategies to maintain productivity and offer staff more flexibility. The pilot ran from May to July, with participating team members taking off the latter half of Fridays. During the pilot, we gathered weekly feedback through surveys focused on mental health, stress levels, work intensity, job satisfaction, and work-life balance. Crucially, staff salaries remained unchanged to prevent financial difficulties for those participating.

Results showed that while stress levels were largely unchanged or slightly improved, mental well-being, work-life balance, and job satisfaction generally trended upward. Staff reported positive changes in their personal lives, using the extra time to connect with family and friends, completing personal errands, and enjoying more relaxed weekends.

Many team members appreciated the additional time to recharge, returning to work feeling refreshed and ready to tackle their tasks. Others found that the shorter workweek was key to preventing burnout. To make the 36-hour week effective, staff identified project management tools, proactive planning, and shorter meetings as essential strategies.

We’re reviewing the pilot’s results and will soon decide whether to make this shift permanent. Our goal remains to refine our approach to support a sustainable work-life balance, reduce burnout, and prioritize the well-being of our staff and the communities we serve.