Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 4-day week about?
The 4-day week is being adopted, all over the world, in a bid to improve productivity and wellbeing in the workplace; attract and retain talent; improve the lives of individuals, families and communities; and have a positive impact on the environment.
It is based on the 100-80-100™ model, developed by co-founders of 4 Day Week Global, Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart, in the landmark Perpetual Guardian trial in New Zealand in 2018. The model prescribes 100% of the pay, in 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.
The 4 Day Week Pilot Program Results — 4 Day Week Global
The results are here!
IT'S FIRST AND FOREMOST ABOUT IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY
A fundamental shift is needed to deliver higher levels of productivity in the workplace. And its not something that can be done from the C-Suite. Rather, it’s about empowering people to rethink how they work to work more productively. “It’s a very personal deal between individuals and their employers and between individuals and their work colleagues,” says Andrew Barnes, co-founder of 4 Day Week Global.
It’s time for some mature conversations between employers and employees. On a basis of trust, commitment and reward, countries all over the world could shift the dial on productivity.
Almost all companies that move to a 4-day week do three big things: radically shorten and reform meetings; use technology more thoughtfully and mindfully; and redesign the workday to build in distinct periods for focused work, meetings, breaks and social time. Studies show that the average knowledge worker loses 2-3 hours of time each day to useless meetings, poor technology implementations and distractions. So, the 4-day week is already here; we just aren’t seeing it because it’s buried underneath these old and thoughtless practices.
IT'S ALSO ABOUT IMPROVING WELLBEING AND TALENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION
Employee wellbeing is becoming a priority for leaders and a key component of talent attraction and retention strategies. This is against the background of a growing mental health crisis that sees high stress levels and burnout taking a severe toll on employee wellbeing and productivity.
Dating back to the first trial of the 4-day week by Perpetual Guardian, in New Zealand in 2018, research results show a positive impact on employee wellbeing. Staff stress levels in that trial dropped from 45% before the trial, to 38% post the trial. Work life balance rose from 54% to 78%. It seems that, world-wide, employees correlate increased time off and leisure time with increased wellbeing.
The 4-day week could be a means to addressing high levels of absenteeism. In Unilever’s recent trial of the 4-day week in New Zealand, absenteeism dropped 34%.
The impressive results from the 4-day week trial undertaken by Perpetual Guardian in New Zealand, in 2018 resuscitated the conversation around switching from the outdated 5-day week model. Off the back of this interest, 4 Day Week Global was established, in 2019, by co-founders Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart. The COVID-19 outbreak catalysed further discussions about hybrid work and the 4-day week model, prompting employees and employers to reconsider the value of workplace flexibility and incentives.
In the past year the 4-day week has become a global phenomenon. It was a key topic at the World Economic Forum in Davos in May 2022 and named by CNN – to its prestigious “Risk Takers”- as one of the nine most important new ideas in business. Many notable businesses have announced their move to a 4-day week model and governments from Reykjavik to Dubai are launching reduced work time policies, pilot programmes and research projects.
4 Day Week Global, as a not-for profit entity, has been supporting organisations to trial the concept across a wide range of industries, in countries all over the world. In 2022, trials took place in the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland, the United States (US), Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.
Research findings from trials across the globe are making a clear case for the 4-day week. Midway through the UK trial, the largest trial to date, most participating companies said they had seen no loss of productivity during the experiment, and in some cases had seen a significant improvement. Moreover 86% said they would be likely or extremely likely to keep the arrangement once the trial was over.
THE 4-DAY WEEK IN SOUTH AFRICA
The time is ripe to relook not just where we work, but how, when and for how long we work.
- South Africa has a long legacy of performing poorly on productivity. According to latest data from Stats SA, the country’s labour productivity dropped by 5.68 % YoY in September 2022, compared with a drop of 3.80 % in the previous quarter. Industries are desperately seeking new ways to incentivise productivity and output/outcome-based delivery.
- South Africa’s workplace is neither engaged, nor thriving. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report showed that only 24% of South African workers are engaged at work and only 29% of them are thriving in their overall well being. Latest research from the Ipsos Global Health Service Monitor, shows 1 in 4 South Africans had a common mental disorder, like depression, anxiety, or substance abuse. 35% of respondents said mental health is the biggest health issue facing the country today. And according to Occupational Care South Africa (OCSA) absenteeism costs the South African economy around R12 – R16 billion per year.
- Workers have emerged from the pandemic with different expectations. Flexibility and work/life balance are the new workplace currency and central to talent attraction and retention strategies. According to WTW’s latest Salary Budget Planning Report, 70% of South African employers have increased workplace flexibility. Employers are looking for innovative ways to incentivise productivity and output/outcome-based delivery and improve their attractiveness to new staff. This is set against a critical skills shortage, with a Social Research Foundation survey showing that 53% of university graduates and 43% of those who earned more than R20,000 a month may leave the country.
- High unemployment in South Africa needs innovative solutions. Unemployment statistics sit at nearly 33% and youth unemployment (for 15 – 34-year-olds) at 56%. This equates to 7 million youth being without jobs. In addition, 10% of those unemployed have tertiary qualifications – with no prospects in sight. We sit at a tipping point where skills development and providing work opportunities for the youth have become everyone’s imperative. Greater productivity alongside increased time and energy could be used to create a job for a qualified young person. The 4-day week model also frees up time for volunteerism which could help drive skills development and social upliftment programmes into the future.
The 4-day week model is being adopted all over the world as the future of work and South Africa should not be left behind. South African business owners and leaders have been watching the roll out of global trials with interest.
The findings of the world’s biggest 4-day week trial in the United Kingdom (UK) will be released in February 2023. Over 70 companies signed up to experiment with this new way of working.
It has triggered debate on the challenges it could help solve in South Africa. These conversations must continue to evolve and represent all voices: from business and employees; to government, labour and the South African public.
All of the evidence shows that companies can maintain and improve their productivity as their employees work reduced hours for no reduction in pay. Those ready for what is one of the most ground breaking workplace experiments of recent times are encouraged to sign up for a South African pilot and be part of generating research findings that will inform how we create a better South African workplace, for all, into the future.
In a joint initiative between 4 Day Week Global, the experts running trials all over the world and the 4 Day Week SA Coalition, a growing base of South African entities supportive of the 4-day week as a key component of the future of work, South African organisations are now able to join the experiment. Forward thinking entities have signed up for the 4 Day Week SA Pioneer Pilot, kicking off on 1 March 2023. Another trial is planned to start in June 2023.
The pilots will both involve a six-month trial. Participating organisations will benefit from the expertise and resources needed to help make the transition a success for employers, employees, and the communities they call home. These include workshop training and mentoring, delivered by 4 Day Week Global and organisations that have already successfully implemented a 4-day week. Networking opportunities with other pilot participants will provide the chance to share learnings and experiences.
There will be a rigorous academic framework of research, developed out of Boston College in collaboration, locally, with Stellenbosch Business School. Researchers will work with participants to establish relevant metrics and to define what individual success looks like. These metrics will be monitored before, mid-way through and at the endpoint of the trial.
More than 650 participants registered for the launch of 4 Day Week SA, a webinar event, hosted by the National Business Initiative (NBI) in September 2022. It was evidence of the growing interest in trialling the concept in South Africa. Of those attending, 47% were excited to try it in their organisations, with 32% wanting to find out more. Moreover, 84% of attendees acknowledged the potential in improving work life balance and 65% of attendees hoped it can increase productivity.
More than R5 million worth of publicity was generated around the launch, demonstrating enormous interest and support from the South African media.
Twenty South African companies, largely from professional services sectors have signed up to participate in the Pioneer Pilot in February. It is hoped that, for the second pilot, in June 2023, participants will represent a wide spectrum of companies of all sizes and from different industries.
IQbusiness, South Africa’s largest management and technology consulting firm, was the first pioneer to announce its participation.
Other forward-thinking companies that have joined the trial are those in the professional services sectors. They include full service market research and insights consultancy – KLA; web design and development company – Big Beard Web Solutions; business change makers – Semco Style Institute South Africa; career strategist, Licia Dewing and cloud-based financial solutions provider – Valuesmart Business Solutions .
3Verse becomes the first advertising agency to take the leap along with digital marketing agency – Social Happiness. Business Consulting firm – The OMG; social impact planning and measurement company – Social Impact Insights; managed IT solutions provider – EntruTech; innovative accounting and business advisory firm Intigrate Business Solutions and Nkwali Compliance Consultants have also signed up to become four-day week pioneers.
STILL HESITANT?
The blended work model does not guarantee better employee productivity or wellness. Widely publicised “Zoom fatigue” and an inundation of meetings has compromised productivity in some cases, or forced people to work longer hours. This has contributed to burn out and mental health issues – even as people work from home.
A 4-day week is not about where you work so it is equally applicable in an on-line, hybrid or on-site workplace. The objective is to improve productivity and reward people for working smarter – regardless of where they are physically located. To coin a phrase from 4 Day Week co-founder Charlotte Lockhart – “you are only borrowing your people from their lives”. Giving them more time to devote to the important things in their lives, even while they are working from home, is hugely beneficial from a wellness and even societal perspective.
Companies across all sorts of industries are maintaining the same pay levels while instituting shorter work weeks. These include professional services firms such as law firms and management consultants, but also more front facing businesses such as restaurants and hospitality outlets; nursing homes and operators in the retail and manufacturing sector.
We see interest from a wide spectrum of organisations from start-ups to legacy companies, small businesses to multinationals. While smaller companies have been the early adapters because it’s generally easier for them to make big changes, we are here to help all sizes of company take a carefully imagined approach to adopting a 4-day week.
We believe this model can work in every sector of the economy. However, in any gradual transition there are going to be early adapters and some industries will make the move sooner than others. If sectors want to be competitive and attract and retain talent they will find a way to make the 4-day week work for them.
It is not a white-collar worker initiative. While South African labour legislation may appear to preclude some workers from participating, ALL employees can, in fact, choose to opt in and be part of the experiment.
It is critical that the 4-day week benefit everyone, not just one slice of society. It can create resentment between employees if not adopted universally. Moreover, if the policy is limited only to certain areas of the business, you won’t generate the collective efficiencies. Everyone needs to participate together to reap the benefits.
We can help you help you design an approach that works across your workforce – whether salaried, hourly, informal, or gig. Consider what it would look like to offer a raise to each type of team – except instead of increasing wages, you’re decreasing hours. Check out these case studies for examples.
Trying it will never be fruitless expenditure. Being an early adapter and market leader in reduced-hour, productivity-focused working establishes your organisation as innovative, progressive, forward-thinking and committed to your people. You will join a trial alongside pioneering South African entities wanting to create positive change in the workplace.
The experience can only be very beneficial in getting your people to think differently about how they work, where they can save time, and be more productive. Research has shown that in trials round the world, productivity has at least stayed the same, or improved, wellbeing has improved, but most importantly the experience has been immensely valuable in building trust between management and employees, encouraging collaboration and teamwork between workers and encouraging creativity and innovation. All these things are valuable outcomes, whether you decide to adopt a 4-day week or not. The greatest risk is that your competitors try this before you do.
It’s not that hectic. It does not have to be an onerous exercise, very intricately thought through. Rather than being a micro-managed directive of the C-Suite, it is an exercise in employee empowerment, letting people work together to find ways of working smarter not harder. It’s an experiment with little to lose and potentially much to gain.
The time is ripe to relook not just where we work, but how, when and for how long we work.
- South Africa has a long legacy of performing poorly on productivity. According to latest data from Stats SA, the country’s labour productivity dropped by 5.68 % YoY in September 2022, compared with a drop of 3.80 % in the previous quarter. Industries are desperately seeking new ways to incentivise productivity and output/outcome-based delivery.
- South Africa’s workplace is neither engaged, nor thriving. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report showed that only 24% of South African workers are engaged at work and only 29% of them are thriving in their overall well being. Latest research from the Ipsos Global Health Service Monitor, shows 1 in 4 South Africans had a common mental disorder, like depression, anxiety, or substance abuse. 35% of respondents said mental health is the biggest health issue facing the country today. And according to Occupational Care South Africa (OCSA) absenteeism costs the South African economy around R12 – R16 billion per year.
- Workers have emerged from the pandemic with different expectations. Flexibility and work/life balance are the new workplace currency and central to talent attraction and retention strategies. According to WTW’s latest Salary Budget Planning Report, 70% of South African employers have increased workplace flexibility. Employers are looking for innovative ways to incentivise productivity and output/outcome-based delivery and improve their attractiveness to new staff. This is set against a critical skills shortage, with a Social Research Foundation survey showing that 53% of university graduates and 43% of those who earned more than R20,000 a month may leave the country.
- High unemployment in South Africa needs innovative solutions. Unemployment statistics sit at nearly 33% and youth unemployment (for 15 – 34-year-olds) at 56%. This equates to 7 million youth being without jobs. In addition, 10% of those unemployed have tertiary qualifications – with no prospects in sight. We sit at a tipping point where skills development and providing work opportunities for the youth have become everyone’s imperative. Greater productivity alongside increased time and energy could be used to create a job for a qualified young person. The 4-day week model also frees up time for volunteerism which could help drive skills development and social upliftment programmes into the future.
The 4-day week model is being adopted all over the world as the future of work and South Africa should not be left behind. South African business owners and leaders have been watching the roll out of global trials with interest.
The findings of the world’s biggest 4-day week trial in the United Kingdom (UK) will be released in February 2023. Over 70 companies signed up to experiment with this new way of working.
It has triggered debate on the challenges it could help solve in South Africa. These conversations must continue to evolve and represent all voices: from business and employees; to government, labour and the South African public.
All of the evidence shows that companies can maintain and improve their productivity as their employees work reduced hours for no reduction in pay. Those ready for what is one of the most ground breaking workplace experiments of recent times are encouraged to sign up for a South African pilot and be part of generating research findings that will inform how we create a better South African workplace, for all, into the future.
In a joint initiative between 4 Day Week Global, the experts running trials all over the world and the 4 Day Week SA Coalition, a growing base of South African entities supportive of the 4-day week as a key component of the future of work, South African organisations are now able to join the experiment. Forward thinking entities have signed up for the 4 Day Week SA Pioneer Pilot, kicking off on 1 March 2023. Another trial is planned to start in June 2023.
The pilots will both involve a six-month trial. Participating organisations will benefit from the expertise and resources needed to help make the transition a success for employers, employees, and the communities they call home. These include workshop training and mentoring, delivered by 4 Day Week Global and organisations that have already successfully implemented a 4-day week. Networking opportunities with other pilot participants will provide the chance to share learnings and experiences.
There will be a rigorous academic framework of research, developed out of Boston College in collaboration, locally, with Stellenbosch Business School. Researchers will work with participants to establish relevant metrics and to define what individual success looks like. These metrics will be monitored before, mid-way through and at the endpoint of the trial.
More than 650 participants registered for the launch of 4 Day Week SA, a webinar event, hosted by the National Business Initiative (NBI) in September 2022. It was evidence of the growing interest in trialling the concept in South Africa. Of those attending, 47% were excited to try it in their organisations, with 32% wanting to find out more. Moreover, 84% of attendees acknowledged the potential in improving work life balance and 65% of attendees hoped it can increase productivity.
More than R5 million worth of publicity was generated around the launch, demonstrating enormous interest and support from the South African media.
Twenty South African companies, largely from professional services sectors have signed up to participate in the Pioneer Pilot in February. It is hoped that, for the second pilot, in June 2023, participants will represent a wide spectrum of companies of all sizes and from different industries.
IQbusiness, South Africa’s largest management and technology consulting firm, was the first pioneer to announce its participation.
Other forward-thinking companies that have joined the trial are those in the professional services sectors. They include full service market research and insights consultancy – KLA; web design and development company – Big Beard Web Solutions; business change makers – Semco Style Institute South Africa; career strategist, Licia Dewing and cloud-based financial solutions provider – Valuesmart Business Solutions .
3Verse becomes the first advertising agency to take the leap along with digital marketing agency – Social Happiness. Business Consulting firm – The OMG; social impact planning and measurement company – Social Impact Insights; managed IT solutions provider – EntruTech; innovative accounting and business advisory firm Intigrate Business Solutions and Nkwali Compliance Consultants have also signed up to become four-day week pioneers.
TAKING ACTION
Successfully piloting a 4-day week requires the cooperation of both employees and the employer. It takes commitment from both sides.
When bosses push back against the idea of trialling a 4-day week, they argue that it wouldn’t work in their industry, or margins are too tight, or logistical issues make it impossible.
Build up support for a trial among fellow employees and learn how to approach your employer in a constructive and cooperative way to find a path that can work for everyone. There are many benefits to a reduced hour workweek. Make the case that works for your organisation: higher productivity; improved talent attraction and retention; increased trust between management and employees; more engaged employees and improved team work; increased innovation; improved employee wellbeing; more time with family and deeper community engagement. For more familiarisation with the research take a look at our white paper or book. Or contact us about workshops we run to help persuade your decision makers.
And if you’re a company ready to explore this new formula for working, join a pilot. We’ll help you talk to your board and stakeholders about trialling a 4-day week.
Some companies may make this decision quickly but require some time with implementation. Starting with trials for different parts of your businesses can help build clarity, drive enthusiasm for the idea and provide valuable lessons for wider implementation.
Importantly, it’s not necessary to try and plan for every contingency. Rather prepare your people to solve problems. Cultivating a growth mindset and being comfortable thinking about potential risks is as important as constructing a playbook.
Transitioning to a 4-day week can create anxiety amongst employees who believe they are already overstretched. However, this is not about doing the same work in the same way in four days rather than five. Once employees recognise the difference between being busy and productive, they are empowered to prioritise and focus, to identify efficiency and redesign their workday. The majority of sceptics become converts by the end of a trial.
There is initial culture shock. In the first month or two, companies experience dislocation as their old habits are upended. But as they develop new practices and start to build muscle memory they are able to focus on improvements, with the great incentive being more time for the personal things they deem important. As with any organizational change, you can also expect some employees to need more reassurance, and some to require additional support while they step into more autonomous roles as managers and employees. Well thought through change management programmes and strong internal communications can help get employees on board and aid the process of assimilation to new ways of working.
THE PROOF IS IN THE RESEARCH - LATEST FINDINGS
The most recent survey, run in the US and Ireland in 2022, involved 33 companies and 903 employees. Findings, released in November 2022, showed that there is:
- a compelling economic case to be made for the 4-day week – in the triple benefits of improving productivity, employee wellbeing and employee talent attraction and retention.
- an exciting societal case to be made for the 4-day week in improving the lives of individuals, families and communities.
- an encouraging environmental case to be made for the 4-day week particularly as regards climate change.
RESEARCH SHOWED ECONOMIC BENEFITS
In response to a question about how their company’s productivity had been affected by the trial, the average score was 7.7 out of 10.
When participants were asked about how their overall company performance was affected by the trial, the average score was 7.6. out of 10.
Revenue increase for the trial period was 8.14% and revenue increased 37.55% compared to the same 6 month period in the previous year.
Health and wellbeing showed significant improvement. Importantly, it did not lead to an increase in intensity or pace of work. Work performance rose from a lifetime best of 7.17 out of 10 at baseline to 7.83 out of 10 at the end of the trial.
Stress, burnout, fatigue and work-family conflict declined, work-family and work life balance increased and physical and mental health improved.
One reason for these improvements in physical and mental health may be the changes in exercise, fatigue and sleep that employees experienced.
Comparing exercise frequency and duration pre- and post-trial, significant health-enhancing changes were found. There was a small increase in the frequency of weekly exercise, from 2.53 to 2.72 times per week. Larger increases were found in how long people exercised, both per session (an almost 6 minute increase, from 44.81 to 50.54 minutes) and per week (23.7 minutes more, from 147.9 to 171.6 minutes).
Improvements in fatigue were also found, with the average fatigue score falling from 2.63 to 2.26 (on a scale of 1-4, never to daily), down 9.25%. The prevalence of insomnia and general sleep problems also declined significantly, from 2.35 to 2.03 (again, from 1-4, never to daily), down 8%.
Positive changes also occurred at the interface of work and family life. When asked how easy it is to combine paid work with care responsibilities, the average score increased from 2.90 to 3.62 on a 1-5 scale with 5 being very easy. Similarly, work/life balance increased from 2.98 to 3.76. Also notable is that both work-to family and family-to-work conflict declined following the trial. For example, when employees were asked whether they come home from work too tired to do some of the household jobs which need to be done, the average score fell from 1.99 to 1.44.
At the beginning of the trial, when asked how satisfied they are with their life, participants responded with an average of 6.64 out of 10. This measure had an almost full point increase, to 7.53. Employees are also more satisfied with other domains of life, including household finances, relationships, and time. Most notably, employees recorded an almost two point increase in satisfaction with time, from 5.39 before the trial to 7.38 after.
RESEARCH SHOWED SOCIETAL BENEFITS
Pilot participants had more leisure time; time for housework, care work and personal maintenance; and more time for hobbies and volunteering. Employees allocated most of their extra time off to leisure (4.9 hours per day), followed by housework and care work (3.5hours) and personal maintenance (2.6 hours).
In the baseline and endpoint surveys, respondents were asked to record the number of hours they spend in certain activities each week. Many measures did not change, but employees now spend 0.41 more hours on hobbies and 0.15 more hours on volunteering per week.
Post trial, workers were also less likely to say they want to spend more time in virtually every activity except for elderly
care. For example, the percentage of workers who want to spend more time on childcare is almost halved from 45% at baseline to 25% six months later.
These findings indicate that the 4 day week arrangement has enabled workers to allocate their time in a way that satisfies their preferences.
There is also potential for greater gender equity. Proponents of the 4-day weeks have hoped that this schedule will promote gender equality in the household division of labour. The rationale is that with more free time available, men may spend greater time in housework or childcare, thereby narrowing the well-documented gender gap in unpaid domestic and care work. Such an effect was not found in this study, however, changes to strongly embedded societal norms will likely take longer than six months to observe, and so, this area will continue to be monitored closely in future research.
Among respondents who have a partner, the move to a 4-day week did not change the household division of labour, measured by respondents’ share of time looking after children or housework. This is the case for the whole sample as well as by gender, though there is marginal evidence that men appear to have increased their contribution to childcare slightly from before to following the trial. This is a promising finding from a gender equity perspective, as in other national contexts, women were more likely than men to report spending their additional free time on care and household work.
Meanwhile, we find evidence that childcare costs went down since the beginning of the 4 day week trial. When asked how the money they spent on childcare changed following the trial, the average response is – 0.2 (on a scale of -1 to 1).
RESEARCH SHOWED ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
Significant decreases were seen in the frequency and duration of commuting. Between the beginning and end of the trial, the fraction of respondents who reported commuting to work by car fell, from 56.5% to 52.5%. A second commuting variable – amount of time spent commuting – fell nearly an hour a week, from 3.56 to 2.59 hours. This is notable, given that remote work also fell during the trial period.
No change in domestic travel was noted over the trial. International travel rose slightly, but from a very low base and once a seasonal correction is applied, a significant decline may be observed.
Finally, there was a small but significant increase in self-reports of household recycling, walking and cycling rather than driving, and buying eco-friendly products. Overall, the carbon related metrics to date are mostly encouraging, but incomplete.
The 4-day week experience was very positive and the trial scored nine out of ten with participating companies.
- 91% of employees kept to a 4-day week schedule.
- Virtually all (96,6%) of employees want to continue the trial.
- Two thirds of companies are continuing with the 4-day week. None are leaning against or planning not to continue.
Employees place high value on a 4-day week. Seventy percent of participants said they would require between 10 to 50% more pay to go back to a 5-day schedule. Thirteen percent said they’d require more than 50%. And 13% said that no amount of money could convince them to give up the 4-day week.
It’s time to retire the nearly hundred-year-old convention of the five-day, forty-hour week and begin to embrace a four-day, thirty two-hour week.
