Status: 12/26/2022 2:59 p.m
Employees want more flexibility. A popular model is the four-day week. A New Zealander has turned it into a global movement and is pushing model tests all over the world.
Kicking balls and playing hide-and-seek instead of e-mails and meetings – New Zealander Ben Dunshealth used to sit in the office for five days. Now he has time for his two small children on Thursdays. Because Ben’s company has been testing the four-day week since August.
All employees have one day off a week, says the 42-year-old: “I have a seven-week-old daughter and a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. They keep us pretty busy. The extra day really helps.” In addition, the weekends are much more relaxed because he can also do something during the week, says the accountant.
More productivity, fewer sick people and a better mood
Since August, the engineering consulting company BVT from Auckland has also been taking part in the global attempt to achieve 100 percent performance in 80 percent of the working hours. Everything has to be tightly organized now. Engineer Suryyaraj Slunke emphasizes that time is no longer wasted. “To increase productivity, we spend less time in meetings. There’s a clear agenda so there’s nothing unnecessary to talk about,” he says. In addition, everyone must stay on topic. “And if we have a deadline, we make sure on the calendar that there’s time for it.”
The four-day week is the future. BVT manager Ceinwen McNeill is convinced of this. It quickly became clear to the company that it would take part in the model test. It is dependent on good specialists who want more and more flexibility instead of salary bonuses. The first results prove McNeill right. She goes into raptures: “Our productivity and profitability are higher. There are fewer sick leave and a better atmosphere in the team. We are totally thrilled.”
In a survey of companies that signed up for the pilot, 88 percent of respondents said the four-day work week worked well for their business. 86 percent reported that they are “very likely” or “likely” considering the model at this point, even after trying it.
Desire for more flexible working hours
According to surveys, two-thirds of all New Zealanders would like more flexibility in their working hours. Businessman Andrew Barnes turned this into a global movement in 2018 and is now pushing pilot projects into a four-day week. The philanthropist wondered why in the 21st century information age people were still working with 20th century working time models when many people were still at the workbench.
In the 1920s, Henry Ford advocated a five-day week instead of a six-day week. Now it’s time to adjust that further, says Barnes. There is no area that he considers unsuitable – regardless of whether it is a high or low-paying job. You only need a little imagination and courage, then the model would also pay off in hospitals or fast-food chains.
“There you have to retrain employees again and again with a lot of effort, because up to 80 percent quit again in the first year,” argues Barnes. However, if employees are offered a working time model that enables a real work-life balance, they would be more likely to want to keep their job.
Working days more stressful in a four-day week
Accountant Dunshealth also reports that he now works more efficiently. So far, the company has only had to cancel the day off once in four months in order to complete a project. However, flexibility is required on both sides: The company does not close down completely one day a week, but the employees have to agree on who is free and when.
“I chose Thursday,” says Dunshealth. “When I come in on Friday, I’m relaxed and can really step on the gas again before I disappear into the weekend in the evening.”
He takes the ferry back home. The 42-year-old says that he still makes more calls than before for work or writes e-mails. The working days have become a bit more stressful as a result. But he accepts that – because the day off he has won with his family is a great motivation.