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Are 4-Day Work Weeks the Answer?
New Zealand-based Perpetual Guardian, a company which helps customers manage estates and wills, performed a two-month trial of four-day work weeks. While still paying their employees for five days of work, the results were promising in increasing productivity, work/life balance, and employee satisfaction.
Third party researchers tracked the effects on more than 240 employees and concluded the following:
- 78% said they could manage their work/life balance (54% had said this during the 5-day work week)
- Stress levels decreased by 7%
- On average, team engagement rose by 20%
The company’s CEO Andrew Barnes made the recommendation to the company’s board to make four day work weeks the new norm, as he believes employees should be paid based on output, not the amount of hours spent in the office. He said, “What happens is you get a motivated, energized, stimulated, loyal work force.”
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Daniella Soloway
