In 2023, John Holland’s Rail & Transport business unit pioneered a new approach to flexible work, supported by Women in Construction (WiC) funding and academic research led by Dr Natalie Galea, Melbourne University. The team introduced a customised program ‘Flex from the Start’ to normalise flexibility and remove long standing barriers to participation. The initiative has reshaped culture, reduced fatigue, and delivered outstanding retention in a sector known for rigid schedules. The trial’s success led to the program becoming permanent in January 2025.
Rail construction and maintenance operate under strict time constraints. When the rail network shuts down for maintenance on weekends, nights, or public holidays, rail teams must be on-site. This environment traditionally left no room for conventional flexible work. The key issues identified were:
- 10 to 11-hour workdays with limited recovery time
- ‘Every weekend’ work
- High levels of fatigue
- Difficulty attracting new talent, especially women
- Low retention and negative perceptions of work life balance
- Strong stigma around adjusting hours or leaving early
To create a sustainable workforce, the team needed a new kind of flexibility, one that worked for site-based rail work. The project’s foundation was simple yet critical: listen to employees first. Instead of imposing corporate flex options like working from home, the team asked workers what they needed. As People Manager Amin Mangat put it, “Before designing anything, we listened. No one wanted working from home… they needed something else.”
The guiding principles were:
- Tailor flexibility to roles that cannot work remotely
- Engage all stakeholders early
- Normalise flexibility through visible leadership modelling
- Trial, refine, and solidify changes through evidence
- Communicate transparently across teams and partners
Three flexibility initiatives were designed and piloted across selected rail projects:
- Flex Wheel – A visual menu of 12 flexibility options used by managers, complete with photos and quotes. It removed stigma, boosted uptake, and showed visible leadership support. As Mangat said, “What we heard a lot was, we don’t see how many of our managers do it……. So, we put the face of a manager and got them to provide a quote about what they do flexibly.”
- No Meeting Mondays – Blocking all Monday meetings created uninterrupted focus time, reducing after hours work and improving planning. The practice was later adopted by one of John Holland’s clients, spreading meaningful cultural change beyond the organisation.
- Flex 9 (Nine Day Fortnight) – The flagship model allowed employees to work 8.4-hour days and with every second Monday off. With voluntary opt in, roster redesign, team rotations and acting‑up opportunities, 64 of 65 employees opted in.
Outcomes
- Outstanding retention – Only one person left in two years. Flex 9 became a talent magnet, with staff reluctant to move to non‑flex projects. Mangat elaborates “There were 65 staff on the project, 64 took it on…. 64 people have not left that project. If anything, we’ve got more people asking to come back. So, retention is the result.”
- Lower fatigue, higher engagement – Employees reported better wellbeing, family routines, morale, and collaboration, many calling it ‘life changing.’
- Stronger capability – With managers taking days/time off under the Nine Day Fortnight arrangement, other employees naturally stepped into regular acting roles on these days. This organically built their skills and strengthened the succession pipelines.
Mangat credits early stakeholder involvement, strong leadership buy‑in, clear communication, and starting small before scaling. Her advice: “Normalise flexible work, don’t make it a special initiative.”
Flex from the Start proved that genuine flexibility is possible even in highly traditional, site-based industries. Through thoughtful design and a willingness to challenge old assumptions, John Holland’s Rail division reshaped culture, lifted wellbeing, and set a new standard for flexibility in construction and infrastructure.
Key Insights
- John Holland redesigned flexibility for rail work by listening to employees and creating options that fit site‑based roles.
- Delivered three practical initiatives: Flex Wheel, No Meeting Mondays, and a Nine Day Fortnight that removed stigma and improved workload balance.
- Achieved outstanding retention, with 64 of 65 employees joining the program and almost no staff leaving over two years.
- Significantly reduced fatigue and boosted wellbeing, with employees reporting better routines, morale, and collaboration.
- Shifted culture and capability, as acting up opportunities strengthened skills and leaders helped make flexibility ‘normal business as usual.’
