The New Zealand company behind a landmark trial of a four-day working week has declared it a success and will be adopting the new schedule full time.
Two-hundred-and-forty staff at Perpetual Guardian, a company which manages trusts, wills and estate planning, trialled a four-day working week over March and April this year, working four, eight-hour days but getting paid for five. Staff could choose whether to opt into the four-day week, or to work five days with flexible options such as starting or finishing early to avoid traffic congestion or manage their childcare commitments.
Before the trial, just over half of staff felt they could balance their work and home commitments. After the trial this number jumped to 78%. Staff stress levels decreased by seven percentage points across the board, while stimulation, commitment and a sense of empowerment at work all improved significantly, with overall life satisfaction increasing by five percentage points. Andrew Barnes, founder of Perpetual Guardian, said, ““For us, this is about our company getting improved productivity from greater workplace efficiencies. There’s no downside for us.”