Transition to a 4-day work week prioritizes work-life balance and recognizes employees’ well-being.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC – In a government town that’s on the go around the clock, Washington’s HFX has instituted a counter-intuitive policy: a four-day workweek.  Like many private sector and non-profit leaders, HFX president Peter Van Praagh guided his organization through a maze of questions concerning the nature and the future of work.  Should employees work from home in an industry centered on people-to-people exchange?  How many hours are needed to be productive per day?  Do employees need the face-to-face dynamics that lead to the creation of great ideas?  After extensive research and consultation, Van Praagh decided on the bold step of moving to the optimal model for work-life balance and productivity: a compressed workweek of Monday through Thursday.

“As vaccines, effective treatments, and more data have become available, moving HFX to an in-person, four-day workweek now is not just possible, but desirable,” Van Praagh said.

“The new arrangement highlights the benefits of in-person work, with the advantages of a four-day week that keeps people focused on our mission while creating a richer work-life balance,” Van Praagh added.

HFX is an organization whose mission is to strengthen strategic cooperation among the world’s democracies.  Its tradecraft has always been people-centered, whether they be gathering in Halifax, Canada for the annual Halifax International Security Forum, or here in the Washington, DC headquarters.  HFX is proud to be exploring the cutting edge of work policies while keeping the welfare of its employees at its forefront and maintaining a standard of convening excellence recognized around the world.

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About HFX

HFX is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization based in Washington, DC.  Its annual Halifax International Security Forum in the Nova Scotia capital is recognized as the leading foreign affairs and defense conference for democracies.  It attracts senior leaders, including a significant delegation from the United States Congress, military commanders, strategists, thinkers, influential journalists, and business leaders from across the democratic world.  The 2022 Forum will be held November 18-20.  The John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service is bestowed annually at the Halifax International Security Forum to individuals and organizations from any country who have demonstrated uncommon leadership in the pursuit of human justice.  HFX is also known for its Peace With Women Fellowship that brings together senior, active-duty, female military officers from NATO member and partner countries for a 3-week executive tour of the political and technological capitals of the United States and Canada.

For more information, please contact the HFX Communications Coordinator by email at matthewfloyd@halifaxtheforum.org