Four day week on five days' pay improves staff productivity, study finds

Researchers found that a four-day-week improved productivity in the work place
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Alexandra Richards24 July 2018

Working four days a week and being paid for five makes employees more productive, a study has found.

During the course of an eight week trial at a company in New Zealand, staff productivity went up and stress levels decreased when staff were told to work fewer days.

Andrew Barnes, the chief executive of Perpetual Guardian, a company which manages trusts, wills and estate planning, conducted the corporate experiment from March to April 2017.

The trial allowed the company’s 240 person staff to retain full pay and enjoy a three day weekend.

Mr Barnes hired academic researchers from Auckland University of Technology and the University of Auckland business school to analyse the impact the trial had on his work force.

Researchers found that staff stress levels went down from 45 per cent to 38 per cent while work-life balance improved from 54 per cent to 78 per cent.

Mr Barnes told the New Zealand Herald that productivity improved with the reduced working hours.

He said: “Our leadership team reported that there was broadly no change in company outputs pre and during the trial," Barnes explained in a press statement.

"They perceived no reduction in job performance and the survey data showed a marginal increase across most teams."

Helen Delaney, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland Business School told The Guardian that she believed employees motivation and commitment to work increased because they were included in the planning of the experiment.

“Employees designed a number of innovations and initiatives to work in a more productive and efficient manner, from automating manual processes to reducing or eliminating non-work-related Internet usage,” she said.

Mr Barnes said he would be open to discussing how a four-day- week could be implemented long term in his company as a result of the trial.

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