Some Australian Businesses Are Trialling a Four-Day Work Week. So, What Are the Benefits?

If given the chance, would you go for a four-day work week?💼

In a new Australian and New Zealand pilot scheme, around 20 Australian and New Zealand businesses will be trialling a four-day work week, with no loss to salary. 

It’s an idea that’s already very popular with young Aussies. 

Because really, we’d all love an extra day off.  

The scheme, which is being run at the same time as similar trials in Ireland, the US, Canada, Spain and the UK, has already shown some success.

 

78% of employees who work four days are happier and less stressed, and 63% of businesses found it easier to attract and retain employees. 

After years of working from home thanks to COVID, flexible working arrangements are more popular than ever, and supporters of the idea say productivity won’t be affected.  

Professor Karin Sanders from the School of Management and Governance at UNSW said other trials have been successful because they’ve addressed real mental health concerns. 

“There is a huge incentive for a four-day work week in hospitals in Scandinavian countries like Sweden, Finland, and Norway, where they treat it like a mental health issue.”  

Earlier this year, PhD Candidate in Industrial Relations at the University of Sydney Rick Sullivan told Student Edge ““I think a four-day work week would be good for people who like to diversify their work routine”. 

But some people think it’s not the best idea. 

In an article on The Conversation, Professor of Economics at the University of Cork Wim Naudé said condensing the work week into four days “would increase the chances of excessive stress, industrial accidents and so on.” 

But despite some criticism, a lot of people still support the idea. 

If a four-day work week did get approved, it would really put the ‘yay’ in Fri-yay.