We’re 100 per cent on board.
It seems every time a long weekend rolls around we find ourselves telling coworkers, “If only every week were like this”.
But what if it could become reality?
Well, if the recent reports are anything to go by, it might be sooner than we think.
A New Zealand company decided to test the theory of a four-day working week (with significantly shorter meetings), switching to the shorter mode and taking stock of things like productivity and work-life balance.
The firm, Perpetual Guardian, found the change boosted productivity among its 240 employees after reducing the work week from 40 hours to 32.
Researchers asked to study the change also found a 24 per cent improvement in work-life balance with many employees coming back to work more energised.
Staff and supervisors were also found to be more creative, have better attendance, were on time and didn’t leave early or take as long of a break.
Employees reported using their extra day off to spend more time with their families, exercising and doing things around the house.
“[Employees] worked out where they were wasting time and worked smarter, not harder,” said one researcher from the New Zealand study.
The company’s founder, Andrew Barnes said he believes employers should negotiate specific tasks to be completed when hiring, as opposed to basing contracts on hours spent in the office.
“A contract should be about an agreed level of productivity,” he said. “If you deliver that in less time, why should I cut your pay?”
This isn’t the first time a company has fiddled around with the idea of shortening the work week (although it is one of the closest to home).
A prior study in Sweden experimented with a six-hour workday, finding employees completed the same amount of work (or more!) while working fewer hours – A French study in 2000 tried a 35-hour workweek and reported the opposite but ah… let’s just pretend that didn’t happen. ‘Kay?
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Image: Getty
Written by Ally Parker
