New Zealand firm introduces four-day week with staff on full pay

New Zealand firm introduces four-day week with staff on full pay
15 Oct 2018

A New Zealand company is to permanently adopt a four-day working week without cutting salaries following a successful trial in March and April of this year.

The 250 staff at Perpetual Guardian, an Auckland-based financial services firm, will be given the choice of whether or not to opt into the new scheme. Those who choose to stick to a five-day structure will be given other benefits such as shorter working hours.

Company founder Andrew Barnes said there was “no downside” to the new approach.

According to a panel of academics who studied the impact on Perpetual Guardian's employees, workers showed lower stress levels, higher levels of job satisfaction and an better sense of work-life balance. Before the trial, just over half of staff felt they could balance their work and home commitments, while afterwards this number jumped to 78%.

Staff stress levels dropped by 7% across the board as a result of the trial, while stimulation, commitment and a sense of empowerment at work all improved significantly, with overall life satisfaction increasing by 5%.

"For us, this is about our company getting improved productivity from greater workplace efficiencies…there's no downside for us," Barnes told the Daily Mail. "The right attitude is a requirement to make it work – everyone has to be committed and take it seriously for us to create a viable long-term model for our business."

Barnes said the experiment had potential implications for everything from work/life balance to the gender pay gap and the mental wellbeing of workers. He added the move could motivate employees to produce better work in a shorter time period.

 Emma Woollacott

Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.

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A New Zealand company is to permanently adopt a four-day working week without cutting salaries following a successful trial in March and April of this year.

The 250 staff at Perpetual Guardian, an Auckland-based financial services firm, will be given the choice of whether or not to opt into the new scheme. Those who choose to stick to a five-day structure will be given other benefits such as shorter working hours.

Company founder Andrew Barnes said there was “no downside” to the new approach.

According to a panel of academics who studied the impact on Perpetual Guardian's employees, workers showed lower stress levels, higher levels of job satisfaction and an better sense of work-life balance. Before the trial, just over half of staff felt they could balance their work and home commitments, while afterwards this number jumped to 78%.

Staff stress levels dropped by 7% across the board as a result of the trial, while stimulation, commitment and a sense of empowerment at work all improved significantly, with overall life satisfaction increasing by 5%.

"For us, this is about our company getting improved productivity from greater workplace efficiencies…there's no downside for us," Barnes told the Daily Mail. "The right attitude is a requirement to make it work – everyone has to be committed and take it seriously for us to create a viable long-term model for our business."

Barnes said the experiment had potential implications for everything from work/life balance to the gender pay gap and the mental wellbeing of workers. He added the move could motivate employees to produce better work in a shorter time period.

 Emma Woollacott

Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.

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New Zealand Labour Party's social package will halve child poverty, analysts claim

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