Avolon aircraft leasing firm 10 years ahead of the rest on work/life balance, with WFH and ‘motivating’ shorter summer hours

Finishing at 3pm on Friday and starting work at 10.30am on Monday stretches out the weekend and improves motivation and productivity, says Avolon chief people officer Ciara Ruane

Gigable founder and CEO John Ryan

thumbnail: Finishing at 3pm on Friday and starting work at 10.30am on Monday stretches out the weekend and improves motivation and productivity, says Avolon chief people officer Ciara Ruane
thumbnail: Gigable founder and CEO John Ryan
Ergo

In a post-pandemic labour market, where most sectors are struggling to find staff, many companies have become very creative with flexible working options such as a work-from-home policy all through the summer months. Other companies are wondering what all the fuss is about as they have been offering perks like this for years.

Aviation leasing company Avolon introduced summer-time hours 10 years ago – so from June 1 to September 1, staff are free to finish work at 3pm on Friday and the new week doesn’t start until 10.30am Monday.

Ciara Ruane, chief people officer at Avolon, said: “Offering shorter summer hours gives our team a well-deserved opportunity to stretch out the weekend.

“Our experience is that giving this flexibility helps both productivity and motivation.

“The labour market remains competitive, and we are always looking at new ways to make tangible our commitment to provide a genuine work/life balance.”

A few other creative ways of appealing to workers in this sector is Avolon’s 20 days’ “work from anywhere policy” in addition to the hybrid model of three days in the office.

And perhaps most appealing of all – a one-month “recharge leave” after five years of service.

‘Gig economy’ startup Gigable raises €520,000 to fund expansion

Seven years ago, John Ryan was an army captain.

Now he’s capitalising on the rapidly changing world of work with his tech startup Gigable, which connects businesses seeking temporary staff with gig economy workers.

Gigable founder and CEO John Ryan

At the start of May, Gigable set out to raise €800,000, at a valuation of €7.56m, through the Spark Crowdfunding platform to accelerate its growth in the UK and Ireland and start operating in the US.

Within 48 hours of launching the campaign, the shift-work marketplace had raised €473,271.

Since then, Gigable has raised more than €520,000.

Cairn goes again with plans for Galway homes

Cairn Homes is having another go at getting a major housing development it wants to build in Galway through the planning system. The housing development firm has submitted fresh plans to develop a 10-acre site in Rahoon, with a proposal to build almost 150 houses and apartments, according to a report in the Galway City Tribune.

In March Cairn withdrew a similar plan from An Bord Pleanála that it had submitted a year earlier after a warning from Transport Infrastructure Ireland that it would encroach on the route of the proposed Galway City Ring Road.