Article: This company just made half-day work mainstream

Diversity

This company just made half-day work mainstream

API infrastructure company M2P Fintech has made half-day work mainstream with the launch of Better Half, a first-of-its-kind half-day formal employment programme aimed at women to help restart their career.
This company just made half-day work mainstream

Aimed at women to help restart their career, API infrastructure company M2P Fintech has made half-day work mainstream with the launch of Better Half, a first-of-its-kind half-day formal employment programme.

Those selected for the programme are expected to contribute five hours in a day instead of the usual eight, making it the first company to make half-day work mainstream. The shorter working hours are meant to be more friendly to those re-entering the workforce and trying to get back up to speed with workplace norms.

The programme, designed to facilitate a smooth re-entry to full-time work through a gradual ramp-up of work hours, offers access to on-the-job projects, learning opportunities, and the opportunity to work in a multi-disciplinary team. It also provides community support, and those selected are mentored by experienced managers culminating into an opportunity to convert into a full-time role at the end of 12 months or whenever the participant decides to convert.

The programme comes packed with benefits including formal upskilling, participation in ESOPs, and all other benefits that accrues to a person seeking full-time employment. Helping one hone their skills and be prepared for Better career prospects through Half a day of work is the rationale behind naming the programme 'Better Half'.

“For India to realise its true potential we need more women to join the workforce. However, our social fabric dissuades many from returning to work from a break, often leaving them with no chance to restart. We realised if there is one lesson from the past two years with COVID-induced work from home, people join new places of work and perform, why not then extend this, and provide a chance to balance it with responsibilities at home. I am certain that we can make a small difference and do expect 10% of our team to be Better Half members in a short span of time,” said Prabhu Rangarajan, Co-Founder - M2P Fintech.

With over 500 M2Peers and growing rapidly, Better Half is aimed at diversification of the team and enhancing the gender balance within the organisation.

M2P Fintech operates in 20 markets across Asia and North Africa. A few key markets apart from India include the United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, the Philippines, Bahrain, and Egypt. The Better Half programme is available in India.

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Topics: Diversity, Employee Engagement, #HybridWorkplace

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