'9.2 out of 10': Aussie employers see success of 4-day work week

Employers implementing a four-day work week (4DWW) scheme gave the model a 9.2 score out of 10, citing its benefits for retention, attraction, and productivity.

Senior managers from 10 Australian businesses, who are implementing the 100:80:100 work model, were interviewed by Swinburne University of Technology researchers to determine the compressed work week's impact on their organisations.

"When asked how beneficial the 4DWW had been so far, employers rated its success as 9.2 out of 10," the report said.

Benefits of 4-day week for employers, employees

Employers said the biggest benefit from the scheme was the increased ability to retain and attract staff, according to the report.

"Being able to offer a 4DWW is clearly appealing to many candidates, with one of the participating organisations reporting a 600% increase in applications, compared to similar roles they had advertised prior to moving to a 4DWW," the report said.

Nikki Beaumont, CEO of Beaumont People, told researchers that they were "inundated with applications" after announcing that they were implementing a compressed work week.

The findings also revealed that 70% of the respondents reported that productivity was higher after the 4DWW was introduced, while 30% said productivity remained the same.

There was also a "significant reduction in sick days," according to employers.

"During the six-month trial period, our capacity as an organisation increased by 11%, our sick leave reduced by a third, stress levels went down, work-life balance measures increased, our electricity usage decreased, and our employee Net Promoter Score went from 20-30 and now sits at 78," said Debbie Bailey, CEO of Momentum Mental Health.

These benefits come amid fears that a 4DWW could negatively impact productivity, and amid concerns that absenteeism was costing the economy billions.

For employees, the researchers discovered that it gave them more time to do life admin tasks, pursue self-care, and find new hobbies and pastimes. 

How did they handle the shortened workweek?

In implementing a 4DWW, the participating employer said they cut down the frequency and duration of meetings, which have long been blamed for massive loss in productivity. Research from Otter.ai previously found that it has been costing big companies over $100 million.

Cutting down on these "productivity killers" will be a "great place to start" to improve efficiency, according to the recommendations of 4DWW employers.

They also recommended identifying and eliminating non-essential or low-value work activities to allow staff to concentrate on what's essential.

Another important step is redesigning workflow and processes to maximise the strengths of employees, according to the employers.

"Time blocking was another technique we discovered, which is a personal productivity technique used for improving time management, that requires employees to identify the most important tasks that need to be completed and formally set aside an appropriate 'block' of time to focus on them," the report said.

Disadvantages of compressed work weeks

Employers also discussed the challenges in implementing a four-day work week, which included scepticism among internal and external stakeholders who doubted achieving increased productivity, among other benefits, with a day less in the week.

Staff were also not as available as they were before, according to the employers, who recommended careful planning as well as an online 4DWW calendar to communicate employees' schedules.

The fate of part-time employees also became a challenge for employers, according to the report.

"Solutions to this challenge vary, from scaling the benefits for part-time workers on a pro rata basis, to excluding non-fulltime workers from accessing work time reductions," it said.

The research comes amid growing popularity of four-day work week in Australia. In 2022, several Australian companies implemented a four-day work week trial as part of a global campaign that introduced the scheme.

The Senate Committee on Work and Care in March also recommended the implementation of a four-day work week trial for organisations across various sectors.