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Overwhelming Support For Four-Day Work Week To Be Introduced To Australia

Overwhelming Support For Four-Day Work Week To Be Introduced To Australia

More than four thousand people responded to a poll and nearly 80 per cent would prefer four 10 hour days compared to five eight hour days.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

In the wake of New Zealand's Prime Minister suggesting a four-day work week as a method to get Kiwis out into the local area and kickstarting the community, Australians have been asked whether they would adopt the idea.

More than four thousand people were polled on LADbible Australia's Facebook page and the overwhelming majority of you reckon it's a good idea.

Nearly 80 per cent of voters think it is a good idea, with loads of people loving the idea of a three day weekend.

The proposal wouldn't involve taking a pay cut because of the one less day, but would require staff to work an extra two hours each day to make up the typical 40 hour week.

One person wrote: "Would much rather do four 10 hour days than five 8 hour days."

Another added: "I currently work a nine day fortnight and it's the best thing having the extra day off every second weekend. Have noticed changes in my mental health since I switched to the nine day fortnight."

A third said: "I can't see why working a standard 40 hr week in four days instead of five would be a problem. Most companies push that anyway so if workers want the overtime, they can tell their boss they will work the Friday."

Pixabay

The debate started when New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern suggested the four-day work week model as the country moves out of the coronavirus pandemic.

After meeting with tourism stakeholders, the big question was how to get Kiwis to explore the rest of the country and inject some money into the local economy.

One of the ideas was that if people had a bit more time on their hands, then they would love to go on a trip.

"I hear lots of people suggesting we should have a four-day work week," she said in a Facebook live video.

"Ultimately, that really sits between employers and employees. But as I've said there's just so much we've learnt about Covid and that flexibility of people working from home, the productivity that can be driven out of that.

"Think about if that's something that would work for your workplace, because it certainly would help tourism all around the country."

If the system were to be adopted in Australia, it would also rest on employers to make that final decision. But it's proved to be very beneficial to the ones that have made the switch.

A Melbourne company moved to a shorter week while keeping the same pay for employees and saw a marked improvement in productivity.

VERSA

VERSA Managing Director Jonny Clow told LADbible: "We literally close the office on a Wednesday which allows our team to fit in some life admin, family time, sport or sleep into their week rather than having to squash it all into the weekend.

"After trying lots of flexible arrangements that didn't work (people taking so many different days off that it became impossible to manage), [company CEO Kath Blackman] realised she could create a single day-off for everyone.

"Wednesday makes sense as it's the middle of the week. Approaching a business like two small weeks creates a whole new model. Friday becomes a day of great industry in what can be seen a slack day where people have a long lunch or leave early.

"Revenue alone was up 46 percent YOY and staff retention is up from 72 percent to 88 percent. Staff are happy and the company is thriving and we hope our case study will help other companies be brave enough to do the same."

Featured Image Credit: Pixabay

Topics: News, Australia