03 Dec This New Zealand Firm Trialed A Four-Day Work Week: Did It Work?
This New Zealand Firm Trialed A Four-Day Work Week: Did It Work?
There are many modern-day business and workplace strategies, with one of the most commonly talked about this year being shorter work weeks. However, it does not just refer losing working hours; it refers to the strategic approach of having less work days in the week, with no change in salary or wages and producing the same, if not more, amount of productivity than within in a normal five-day working week.
According to The Guardian, a New Zealand based firm has trialed and tested the workplace strategy of changing their employees work week from the traditional five days, to a shorter four days, whilst their pay and daily eight hours, remains the same.
“Academics who studied the trial found staff at the firm’s offices around the country reported lower stress levels, higher levels of job satisfaction and an improved sense of work-life balance,” (Ainge Roy, 2018).
The flexible four-day work week strategy offered employees to opt-in or opt-out, depending on work preferences, starting times, and childcare commitments. Not only this, the well-thought-out strategy was cleared by, and abided to, the New Zealand employment law and conditions requirements.
The trial itself came about after the firm’s founder observed how much pressure some staff were under, and their unfocused working patterns, as they tried to manage their personal and working life. From there, the founder of the firm developed the trial to provide the staff with the option of having an extra day within the week for their personal lives, in which it was found to be a great success as it boosted staff morale, productivity and efficiency.
Perhaps this is a lesson to be learnt by many more organisations whom are noticing a decrease in staff attention and an increase in presenteeism..
If you’re looking to improve your workplace and business strategy to benefit your organisation, Hubb Consultants’ team are experts in the field and are able to determine which strategy works best for which industry and organisation; reach out to Hubb Consultants today