While the four-day workweek may be a wonderful initiative, it may not be suitable for your organisation. A few local companies who joined the 4 Day Week SA have already extended their weekend by an extra day. However, it’s more than just a day off, isn’t it? It may also have raised some key issues faced by your business.
Accountability and integrity are core values cited by a great many organisations. However, for some, their clients would be hard-pressed to find any evidence of it. There are various ways to foster a culture of accountability and integrity, but this usually happens after misconduct has been identified. One reason a reduced workweek will not work for your organisation, is because those values are already absent from it.
Consider the fact that the JSE (Johannesburg Stock Exchange) has 302 000 companies listed as of March 2023. Chances are you’ve already done business with a few of them and continue to do so. Spending some time in London a few years ago and encountering the system of deregulation for the first time, I am a strong advocate for it here on these shores. South Africa could do with a few new suppliers, instead of the finite list of conglomerates dominating the landscape.
In closing, a day off won’t help your company grow if your employer or employees lack a sense of responsibility and honesty. You could spend time and money on fancy programmes to foster it, but it may be better to take a hard look at your staff members first. On a grander scale, the absence of accountability and integrity can be measured by the service you receive from larger organisations. If that service is not of a high enough standard, an extra day off may not be the answer you’re looking for.
4 Day Week SA, INFJ, dear INFJ, 4 Day Workweek, 4 Day Week, Future Of Work, Entrepreneurship, Lead With Empathy, South Africa’s Digital Revolution, Work Time Reduction, Reduced Workweek Revolution, Wellbeing In The Workplace, Proudly South African
David-John Wayne Bailey is an INFJ from Cape Town, a proud pioneer pilot participant of 4 Day Week SA and an advocate of a four-day week for everyone working in South Africa.
