Express & Star

Meeting-free Fridays and email-free Wednesdays: Measures to ease stress for Wolverhampton Council staff

Wolverhampton City Council is holding meeting-free Fridays, email-free Wednesdays and giving staff massages in a series of changes to the way it works.

Published

Staff have been asked for ideas on how to improve life in their offices and have come up with some eyebrow-raising schemes, 82 of which have already been implemented by bosses eager to boost morale.

They include a 'meeting-free Friday' in which staff were urged to 'take a day back to catch up, focus on your development or prepare for the week ahead'.

There was also a 'Run2Work' day where people were urged to either run to the Civic Centre, get off the bus a stop early or take part in a beginners' run at lunchtime led by two colleagues.

But the project has been criticised as it comes at the same time the authority is axing 2,000 jobs amid £134 million cuts and savings it has to make over five years to balance the books.

Another suggestion included massages for workers. At the end of January, staff were offered 'employee massages' as part of what the council calls its 100:100 project, spearheaded by managing director Keith Ireland.

The scheme offered a 'pilot employee massage day' but said staff had to pay for it.

In 2010, Mr Ireland's predecessor, Simon Warren, called an immediate halt to massages being offered to stressed-out council staff in the civic centre – in full view of people queuing for their benefits.

One of the other proposals was a 'mind mapping workshop' where two employees would share their knowledge and enthusiasm for the 'theory and practice of mind mapping with other employees in an informal lunchtime session'. Mind-mapping is a form of brainstorming ideas.

Mr Ireland has also sent out a message to all staff asking them to not send each other emails every other Wednesday while staff are being offered the chance to buy cheaper iPads and TVs for their homes through a salary sacrifice programme.

Despite the council having spent more than £10,000 on iPads for staff and councillors – a move intended to save money on paper – Mr Ireland now wants to cut the reliance on email.

In a memo to staff Mr Ireland wrote: "The first and third Wednesday of every month have been designated 'internal email-free days' to encourage better internal communication and productivity.

"I am not a fan of emails. We send far too many as an organisation and it often slows down getting things done. I would much rather people picked up the phone or went to speak to someone face to face where possible."

Councillor Wendy Thompson, leader of the opposition Tories, said: "Sometimes staff have to send emails. They should be able to use whatever method of communication helps them get the job done and serve residents in the best way. There are more important things than this for the council to be worrying about."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.