Reduced working week a ‘no-brainer’ say Kiwi businesses. Advocate weighs in

The conversation around the four-day work week is gaining momentum. Photo / 123RF

Whether it be a four-day work week, or some other form of reduced working, discussions around the topic are gaining momentum. The Herald spoke to four-day work week advocate Andrew Barnes about why this is, and several businesses which have adopted reduced working weeks about how and what works.

“The global momentum for a productivity-focused, reduced-hour work model is building to a crescendo,” four-day working week advocate Andrew Barnes tells the Herald.

Barnes, the innovator behind 4 Day Week Global – the world’s largest four-day work week trial – said they were seeing continued interest and uptake in New Zealand of a reduced-working model.

Last week global accounting firm Grant Thornton announced it was trialling a nine-day fortnight for all staff in New Zealand. The trial will see staff working for nine days but being paid for 10.

“There are several companies that have trialled and implemented a four-day week that have not widely announced their initiative,” Barnes says.

Barnes, founder of Perpetual Guardian, introduced the four-day work week at his company back in 2018.

But the most noticeable contrast in New Zealand to many other countries is a lack of political debate locally on the benefits of a reduced-hour approach to work, he said.

“We have spoken with all the major political parties over the past few years and, while most agree it has merit and the evidence is compelling, there has yet to be any formal engagement,” Barnes said.

“[In] Australia, the Senate Select Committee for Work and Care is recommending a pilot for Australia using our 100-80-100 (TM) model, and states and local councils as well as businesses are launching trials.”

The 100-80-100 model involves 100 per cent of the pay, 80 per cent of the time, in exchange for 100 per cent of the productivity.

Andrew Barnes is the founder of Perpetual Guardian and innovator behind 4 Day Week Global.

“Our evidence gathered via academic-led trials with large and small companies internationally points to significant improvements in business (productivity), social (burnout, stress, family time, and health) and environmental (less commuting) issues facing our society,” Barnes said.

Barnes said the four-day work week concept was not limited to white-collar workers, which is a common misconception.

“We have logistics, construction, retail (including a fish and chip shop), hospitality, education and medical, as well a Police Department (City of Golden, Colorado, United States) taking part [in trials],” he said.

Reduced week a ‘no-brainer’

“Without putting it into practice, it’s difficult to fully understand the benefits. They can be really quite remarkable,” says Mana Communications managing director Caleb Hulme-Moir.

The transtasman communications agency implemented a four-day work week in 2020 amid crisis mode during the early stages of Covid-19.

Then was a much different time, however, with the business losing 45 per cent of its income in a week and being forced to drop staff salaries to 80 per cent in order to avoid layoffs.

But Hulme-Moir said the strategy proved the viability of producing the same high standards for clients in a shorter working week.

So when Mana returned to full working capacity, it shifted to a nine-day fortnight permanently, which the company has found to work even better, he said.

“Covid was the catalyst for us, but it’s allowed us to introduce a policy that really speaks to our culture and who we are. To carry it on was a no-brainer,” Hulme-Moir said.

Hulme-Moir said he applauded Grant Thornton for taking such a progressive leap in adopting the nine-day fortnight.

“I’ve seen a lot of talk about shorter working weeks, but little action. To be frank, the uptake has been stubbornly low by businesses in New Zealand, and I urge other companies to take advantage of this killer HR policy,” Hulme-Moir said.

“I imagine that a loss of productivity weighs heavily on the minds of employers, but if anything, I find that our nine-day fortnight increases our employee’s enthusiasm and drive for their mahi [work] to continue producing the same output.”

He said while a three-day weekend is amazing, the benefits go far further than that.

“It’s about improved wellbeing, health, job satisfaction, performance, team culture and loyalty,” he said.

“It’s about taking the time to make sure work isn’t getting in the way of life.”

Hulme-Moir said as times change, businesses are foolish to remain stagnant.

Putting the four-day week into practice

Auckland accounting firm Frank has been operating a four-day week since June 2022.

Frank was part of the New Zealand pilot of Barnes’ 4 Day Week Global trial.

Director Greg Byers said staff were not only happier and work satisfaction was high, but productivity among its 25 staff has gone from 29 hours to 30 productive hours despite one less day.

“One of the premises of the four-day work week model is that it needs to be team led,” Byers said.

“Obviously we had to agree with what the team designed, and there were certain things we vetoed because they wouldn’t have worked for the business, such as people choosing their day off. For our business to be successful it was agreed the whole team would not work on a Friday.”

Feeling burnt out? The benefits of a reduced working week go far further than having a three-day weekend, says Mana Communications managing director Caleb Hulme-Moir. Photo / 123RF

Byers said since adopting the four-day work week the team had become far more self-governing.

“Now, if something is not working, the team want to address it quickly, because they know if standards drop or productivity decreases or chargeable hours go down, then their four days is at risk,” he said.

But probably the surprise outcome at Frank was that the business had now become an office-first business, when previously Frank’s only in-the-office day was Tuesday.

“I think a lot of businesses globally are doing this at the moment,” Byers said.

“We don’t want a business of really high performing individual contributors. We want a team and if people aren’t together, it starts to become problematic.”

Byers explained that for public holidays and annual leave (a leave day during the week) the model required another tweak, with staff expected to work the Friday.

Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based journalist with the Herald business team. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports.