Could a four-day work week be the boost your business is looking for?

The idea of a four-day work week has been thrown around for a number of years, but how do the figures stack up?

A recent pilot involving 30 companies and almost 1,000 employees in businesses in Australia, Ireland, and the US found that the four-day work week is a winner. Companies rated the four-day work week trial a 9 out of 10, expressing extreme satisfaction with their overall productivity and performance. Employees also rated the pilot highly, with 97% saying they want to continue on a four-day week.

Despite employees working only four days, the companies involved saw a 38% increase in revenue year-on-year, despite no reduction in pay for employees. Every single business involved in the trial is sticking with the four-day week, and employees loved their day off so much that most said they would need a significant pay rise to go back to working five days.

Maybe it’s time to think about whether it could work at your business. It could be just the thing you need to attract good talent – which has been in short supply in New Zealand lately.

The advantages of the four-day week are:

• It improves staff morale, wellbeing, and retention.
• It can cut overheads by up to 20%.
• Productivity is likely to remain at 100%; some studies show an increase.
• It’s easier to recruit new team members.
• Emissions created by commuting will be reduced.
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The disadvantages of the four-day week:

• Your total revenue may suffer.
• It simply won’t work for many businesses, particularly those focused on customer service.
• You’ll have to decide whether to limit your operating hours or try to manage workers’ schedules and workloads to allow a four-day work week to succeed.
• There are no long-term studies of the positive effects on staff morale – there are some indications that it may fall back to the baseline over time.
• Squeezing more into four days of work could prove stressful for you and your team.

We can help you run the numbers

If you’re considering a four-day week, or another flexible arrangement, we can help. It’s useful to identify your least profitable days, for instance, if you plan to simply shut up shop for one weekday. Or we can help you work out optimal staffing requirements based on revenue streams.

Our team can work with you to do a cost-benefit analysis of what a four-day work week might look like for your business, discuss how you can change the way your business operates – and help you reap the rewards.