Four-day work week a ‘game changer’

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s (RMIT) head of business administration Joe Jiang mentioned profitable trials in Australia and New Zealand confirmed advantages for workers, the organisation, and society.

“It is not surprising that the reduction of working hours/days, without a pay cut, improves employees’ wellbeing, which can further boost their performance, productivity, innovation and creativity,” ” Professor Jiang mentioned.

“The introduction of a four-day work week delivers a strong message about the employer’s emphasis on work-life balance, openness to new and innovative solutions to support employees, and a commitment to building a sustainable, resilient workforce.

“The evidence from pilot (programs), such as in Australia and New Zealand, shows that strategically moving to a four-day work week will be a game changer for many sectors.”

Professor Jiang mentioned these advantages may even lengthen to advantages for the broader neighborhood.

“For example, less commuting helps reduce traffic jams and carbon pollution,” he mentioned.

“It may also help workers enrich their family roles and assist to address the society’s gender gaps, such as through enhancing flexibility for caregiving duties and increasing equal employee opportunities regardless of gender.”

Professor Jiang notes whereas a lot of the knowledge out there in the mean time is from developed nations, he’s wanting ahead to seeing pilot packages trialled in locations like South Africa and Brazil.

In May, knowledge from 4 Day Work Week Global, which had 26 corporations trial the shorter week for no discount in pay for six months, discovered 95 per cent of these companies had been in favour of constructing the swap completely.

Ninety-six per cent of staff reported wanting to stay with the four-day work week, two-thirds reported feeling much less burnout and 38 per cent mentioned they felt much less pressured.