Is it time we all worked a four-day week?

Friday, 26 March 2021

With Spain poised to launch a nationwide test run of a four-day working week, proponents of the model say New Zealand should follow suit.

Spanish Left-wing political party Mas Pais is in talks with the Spanish Government to finalise details of a pilot programme which would give workers an extra day off each week.

According to Spanish media, the programme is aimed at reducing the risk to employers’ with a government contribution making up the difference in salary for workers on a four-day schedule.

While the Spanish trial would be the largest to date, the idea is not new in New Zealand. In fact, the country has been at the forefront of a drive for change in the last few years.

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Trust company Perpetual Guardian made a permanent switch to the shorter week in 2018 following a successful trial.

Perpetual Guardian, which has more than 240 staff, claimed productivity had increased by 20 per cent during the trial, and staff were more engaged and enthusiastic.

Managing director Andrew Barnes said there were no downsides to the four-day work week.

“The right attitude is a requirement to make it work. Everyone has to be committed and take it seriously for us to create a viable long-term model for our business.”

Last May, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern suggested the four-day week as an option to boost domestic tourism and help workers strike a better work-life balance.

But despite the prime minister’s plug and some some other positive noises from Parliament, businesses and workers are yet to see any practical follow-up support.

That has not stopped some businesses forging ahead.

Late last year, Unilever, announced a 12-month trial of the four-day week across its New Zealand operation.

Andrew Barnes, founder and managing director of Perpetual Guardian, says there are no downsides to the four-day work week.

If successful, the multinational consumer goods company, producer of brands including Lipton, Lux and Persil, could roll the model out to 165,000 workers globally.

Smaller companies including legal, construction and manufacturing firms have also successfully switched to a 32-hour week.

But New Zealand’s position at the front of the four-day pack is under threat as Europe runs with the idea of a productivity-focused flexible work model.

As well as the Spanish pilot, the British Trade Union Council also called for action, labelling the four-day week “an ambition for the 21st century”, and the model is now Britain’s Labour party policy.

Caleb Hulme-Moir, managing director of trans-Tasman company Mana Communications, said New Zealand should take note of precedents being set overseas.

“New Zealand has a well-earned reputation for being trendsetters but on work hours culture we can do better.

“We need forward-thinking businesses to set the tone within New Zealand and show how outdated a stiff 40-hour, nine-to-five week really is.”

After taking a hit to its business in the early stages of the alert level 4 lockdown, Mana switched to a four-day week, dropping its staff down to 80 per cent salaries across its offices in Wellington and Sydney.

“We had heavy exposure to the tourism and travel sectors which saw us lose 45 per cent of revenue in a one-week period,” Hulme-Moir said.

“I was determined to avoid layoffs if I possibly could, so the first immediate step was to drop down to a four-day working week.”

Through a collective “hustle”, Mana drummed up enough work to move back to a five-day week within a month.

Caleb Hulme-Moir, managing director of Mana Communications, says the Covid-19 pandemic forced the business to change.

But the experience had given Hulme-Moir food for thought.

“We had all seen that we could work effectively, and service clients well, over a shorter week. I’d always had in mind to bring in a shorter working week, but I was thinking three to five years down the line.

“Covid-19 forced us to change and it seemed like a great opportunity to make this permanent and to take something positive from Covid.”

For the last 10 months Mana has operated on a nine-day fortnight model, with the Wellington and Sydney offices alternating and taking every second Monday off.

The system means one side of the trans-Tasman is always on call and available for client work.

“The team has responded really well to the new working model, clients have also responded favourably, and it just feels like the right decision for us,” Hulme-Moir said.

“We have seen no reduction of service to our clients and [they] have been universally supportive of the transition.”

Wellington wellbeing social enterprise CoLiberate has also adopted flexible working arrangements to prioritise staff wellbeing.

Comanaging director Sarah Tuck said it had taken some time to adapt but the workplace was now running as efficiently as ever.

“With a shortened week there is no time to waste. I’m trialling a nine-day fortnight as I’ve seen that we often go over 40 hours of work before Friday. It’s not fair or ethical to overwork staff in any workplace, let alone a wellbeing studio.”

Tuck said free time was an invaluable incentive which staff could use however they chose.

”We can set the tone in New Zealand and show how outdated a stiff 40-hour, nine-to-five week really is.”

Charlotte Lockhart, who founded the 4-Day-Week organisation with Barnes, said individual companies needed to decide how best to introduce a reduced-hours framework.

“It’s about finding what works for your business, it doesn’t have to be a designated day off, we just need to get people out of the office more often,” Lockhart said.

“Whether it’s a specific day off, or two afternoons or mornings a week, employers need to work with their staff to feel out what works.”

Lockhart said the reduced hours movement was not restricted to office-based industries and many different types of workplaces had successfully adopted a shortened week.

“New Zealand needs to have a serious conversation on why in this digital era we continue to overwork our staff. We have the opportunity and resource to embrace a productivity-led work culture rather than a clock watching culture.

“I’m really hoping that 2021 will see greater uptake of reduced hour work weeks, and flexible working across many Kiwi workplaces. If Covid-19 does not change how we work, I’m not sure what will.”