Shorter work weeks could be embraced by more companies in Australia

Dolly Parton said it best: Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’, but that may be changing as more companies introduce no-workday policies.

Working 9am to 5pm five days a week, just like the Parton song, could soon be a thing of the past.

Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin has proposed introducing a four-day work week and six-hour workday policy.

Ms Marin said the policy would allow Fins to spend more time with friends and family.

“I believe people deserve to spend more time with their families, loved ones, hobbies and other aspects of life, such as culture,” she said.

“This could be the next step for us in working life.”

Ms Marin is not the only one in favour of a shorter working week.

Judy Sahay, director of social media agency Crowd Media, introduced a four-day work week to her business six months ago.

”We implemented shorter work weeks about six months ago, giving staff the option to work four days a week and the option to work shorter hours anywhere between five to eight hours a day,” she told news.com.au.

Ms Sahay saw an immediate benefit to the shorter workweek policy.

Ms Sahay admitted that she was hesitant to introduce the shorter week due to a range of concerns from productivity to abuse of the system.

“Initially, I was a bit hesitant because it can be abused for sure. I have seen this happen in other work places, and we didn’t want this to happen to us,” she said.

Ms Sahay said there was no way she could have introduced the policy a couple of years ago, but the team she has now made her feel secure to take the leap.

“The team we have now is solid so it came down to having open communication with the team and being transparent,” she said.

“We went into this with putting 100 per cent trust in our employees.”

Ms Sahay said that in time she expected more businesses to embrace the shorter week, particularly as people were looking for greater flexibility.

“Employees are looking for other benefits over salary. If companies want to stay competitive they need to look at their social footprint, what are they doing outside of their business to positively impact society, perks, reward systems etc,” she said.

“Ultimately, businesses need to be looking at how they can grow and build their employees outside of work.”

Employee mental health has a direct correlation to the success of a business, Ms Sahay says.

Improving the mental health of employees played a big role in the eventual decision, Ms Sahay said, as employees were vital to the success of any business.

“When staff are happy, relaxed and comfortable we see the best work, increased productivity, efficiency and success, and as the director, my role is to put their mental health first,” she said.

Ms Sahay urged other CEOs to take the plunge by starting with shorter days first and then eventually making the transition to weeks, but she understood the hesitation.

“Businesses can’t be blamed for its hesitation as it’s really hard to find great staff,” she said. “It’s hard to find people who believe in what you believe, who are willing to come into work and live and breathe your culture every day.”

Ms Sahay has followed the lead of Versa CEO Kath Blackham, who introduced a no-work Wednesday policy more than two years ago.

Kath Blackham has travelled the world to promote the shorter work week.

Ms Blackham has become perhaps the most well known face of the shorter work week movement and has been able to travel the world to share her company’s experience with others.

Most recently she spoke to the UK Labour Party, which took a policy of a four-day work week to the recent election, and also to UK retailer Morrisons, which considered the policy.

But as Ms Blackham told the ABC, the company was only going to introduce the policy for office staff and not the leadership team.

“I told them straight out, ‘That’s not going to work’. Because if the leadership team are (present) it just cascades down from there,” she said.

TIME OFF POLICIES

Shorter work weeks are not the only policies companies are introducing in order to give employees more time off work.

Account firm Ernst & Young (EY) introduced a groundbreaking Life Leave policy in 2019 that allowed staff to take 12 weeks off per year.

The extra self-funded leave is able to be used for travel or relaxation and was rolled out with several options to help families.

Millennials are the drivers behind the policy as a younger workforce demands more flexibility.

The policy has immediately benefited the company, according to CEO Tony Johnson, who told The Australian it had improved staff retention.

“The prize when we get this right is substantial – a 1 per cent improvement in staff retention equates to a potential saving of $5.3 million annually that we can reinvest in growth,” he said.

There have also been more out-of-the-box ideas to allow staff extra time off, like the UK digital marketing agency that made news for introducing a “hangover policy”.

The policy, introduced by The Audit Lab, allows employees to work from home if they are feeling rough but only if they have no meetings, are able to work remotely and don’t abuse the system.

Co-founder and director of The Audit Lab, Claire Crompton, told the BBC that most flexible work arrangements benefited working parents and not childless employees.

“It’s basically a work-from-home day, but we’ve sexed it up a bit to appeal to the younger generation … It promotes honesty as well,” she said.

Brisbane brewery Brewdog, originally from the UK, also has introduced a unique leave policy known as Pawternity leave.

The policy allows all staff to take a week away from work when they adopt a pet, and it operates similarity to paternal leave.

“Take on a new dog (either puppy or a rescue dog) and our staff can have a week away from work to start that lifetime’s bond,” says their website.

Does your business have a shorter work week in place or something to that effect? Let us know in the comments or contact [e-mail].

Originally published as Shorter work weeks could be embraced by more companies in Australia