Tips: Listen to the opening topic before considering the examples that follow.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Whether to switch from in-person to fully remote work.: The memo concerns a four-day work week, not a switch to fully remote work.
• Whether to extend office hours to include weekends.: Adding weekend office hours is not the proposal described in the memo.
• Whether to relocate the office to a different part of Bay Street.: Bay Street is mentioned as the location of agencies already trying the schedule. It is not a proposed office relocation.

Correct Answer: Maintaining client coverage five days a week.

Why this is correct: The speaker first supports trying a pilot, then identifies client coverage as the main concern. Clients expect availability five days a week, especially during campaign launches.

Tips: Use the words that introduce the main concern to identify the answer.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Longer workdays would make staff work excessive hours.: Longer days are considered later in the discussion. They are not the client-coverage concern that follows the initial support for a pilot.
• Employees would still have to spend too many days at work.: The concern is providing service across five days, not employees spending too many days at work.
• Office rent might increase under the new schedule.: The discussion does not connect the proposed schedule with an increase in office rent.

Correct Answer: The speaker is not convinced the productivity claims hold up.

Why this is correct: The opening speaker is not convinced that the productivity claims hold up. This expresses doubt about the promised benefit.

Tips: Distinguish a specific doubt from a complete rejection of the proposal.

Why the other options are wrong:

• The schedule would conflict with U.S. holidays.: The opening reservation concerns productivity claims, not scheduling conflicts with U.S. holidays.
• Any change to the current schedule should be rejected.: Doubting a productivity claim does not mean that the speaker rejects every possible schedule change.
• Employees would demand higher salaries.: Higher salary demands are not the reason given for the opening reservation.

Correct Answer: A compressed schedule with longer days that still meets Employment Standards Act requirements.

Why this is correct: The proposed option is a compressed schedule with longer days. The speaker describes it as meeting Employment Standards Act requirements while keeping the same total hours and redistributing them. This is the proposal reported in the discussion.

Tips: Choose the scheduling option the speaker proposes, rather than another way to change the working week.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Having employees work from home on Fridays instead of taking the day off.: Working from home on Fridays is not the scheduling option proposed in this turn.
• Reducing all workdays to six hours instead of eight.: The proposal keeps total hours and redistributes them. It does not describe reducing every workday to six hours.
• Alternating between four-day and five-day weeks each month.: The proposal compresses the schedule through longer days. It does not describe alternating schedules from month to month.

Correct Answer: Staggering days off so someone is always available on Fridays.

Why this is correct: The proposed solution is to stagger days off so that someone always covers Fridays. This directly addresses the coverage problem.

Tips: Identify how the proposal would keep someone available on Fridays.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Closing the office on Fridays and using voicemail.: Closing the office and relying on voicemail would not provide the staffed Friday coverage described in the solution.
• Hiring temporary staff to cover Fridays.: The speaker proposes staggering existing days off, not hiring temporary staff.
• Asking clients to avoid scheduling meetings on Fridays.: The solution changes staff coverage. It does not ask clients to avoid Friday meetings.

Correct Answer: Junior staff may feel pressure to work on their day off anyway.

Why this is correct: The culture concern is that junior staff might feel pressure to work on their supposed day off to keep up with senior people. This is a concern about unspoken workplace expectations.

Tips: Listen for who might be affected and how.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Employees will stop attending team meetings.: The concern is pressure to work during a day off, not employees stopping their attendance at team meetings.
• Junior staff may have fewer opportunities to collaborate with senior employees.: The speaker describes pressure to keep up with senior people. The concern is not fewer opportunities to collaborate with them.
• Senior managers might feel excluded from the new schedule.: The concern affects junior staff. The speaker does not describe senior managers being excluded from the schedule.

Correct Answer: Clear guidelines and explicit messaging from leadership.

Why this is correct: The speaker reports that other Toronto firms reduced the pressure through clear guidelines and explicit messaging from leadership. This is the approach described in the discussion.

Tips: Follow how the next reply responds to the concern raised in the previous turn.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Making Friday the compulsory day off for every employee.: A compulsory common Friday off is not the reported approach. Earlier, Friday coverage is addressed by staggering days off.
• Using only anonymous surveys without leadership guidance.: The reported approach includes clear guidance and leadership messaging. Surveys without that guidance do not describe it.
• Checking attendance and email response times without addressing expectations.: The report concerns clear expectations from leadership. Monitoring attendance and response times without addressing expectations does not describe that approach.

Correct Answer: Circulate a summary so everyone is on the same page.

Why this is correct: The closing speaker says that a summary will be sent around so everyone is on the same page. This is the next step announced.

Tips: Focus on the last stated action rather than conditions that could apply to a future pilot.

Why the other options are wrong:

• Notify all clients before any further discussion.: The closing announces a summary, not notifying all clients before another discussion.
• Begin a pilot lasting at least one full year.: No year-long pilot is announced at the end. The stated next step is summary circulation.
• Start a pilot involving managers only.: The closing does not announce a managers-only pilot. It announces a summary for shared understanding.