Stratum Consultants has been announced as a finalist in the Southern Cross Wayfinder Awards!
The New Horizon Award recognises innovation in workplace wellbeing:
A trailblazing business that has innovated and implemented transformative programmes or strategies to enhance the wellbeing of its people. They are carving new paths for others to follow, showcasing the benefits of investing in the health and happiness of their people and seen positive results.
Our 36-hour work week where we close at noon each Friday has earned us a place as a finalist in this category.
In late 2022 Stratum Consultants introduced a truly impactful wellness initiative that we believed was the first of its kind in our industry and certainly rare in New Zealand - a Reduced Working Week where all of our offices close at 12 noon on Friday’s for a long weekend, every weekend. People are paid for a full working week and there is no requirement to ‘make up’ the time.
Our people’s work is demanding and complex. To provide a genuinely impactful wellness benefit and enable sustained performance we were looking for an ongoing (not one off) benefit for all of our people. We kept coming back to the value of time.
The owners and leadership team considered a variety of other benefits, and were clear that something that provided ongoing benefit was key to sustained and true improvements in wellbeing, and the other element of success is that this initiative is for everyone. It is not something for only a portion of our people. We also love the potential for benefits to extend to whānau and communities of our people which is aligned with our organisational values.
We’re thrilled our initiative is being recognised on a national scale. The winner is announced in November - fingers crossed!
