How does a four-day working week sound? Aussie boss gives all staff an extra day off with NO pay cut

A four-day work week trial has seen higher staff satisfaction and no drop in productivity in workplaces across the globe, with one Australian employer claiming there was ‘no way’ his company would go back to five-day weeks.

The pilot program was started by 4 Day Week Global, a not-for-profit community set up by businessman and founder of New Zealand trustee company Perpetual Guardian, Andrew Barnes. 

Mr Barnes began trialling a four-day work week at Perpetual Guardian in 2018 and established the global movement upon discovering higher staff satisfaction levels and productivity benefits.

A four-day work week is being trialled in workplaces across the globe. Companies are reporting higher staff satisfaction and either the same level or an improvement in productivity (stock image)

Andrew Barnes (pictured), the founder of New Zealand trustee company Perpetual Guardian, set up 4 Day Week Global

Denis Moriarty, the founder of the Australian social enterprise Our Community, has trialled a four-day work week since August,

He said staff were happier thanks to the extra day off and still 100 per cent productive.

‘They’re loving it. They’ve got their lives back,’ he told Daily Mail Australia. 

‘It’s been good for the workplace, good for employees and the company.’ 

The managing director said his staff were spending their extra day off with family or taking up a new hobby.

‘There is no way we will go back to five days,’  he  said.

‘We will definitely proceed with four days after the six-month trial has ended.’

Our Community has operated with the new schedule by reducing and shortening meetings.

The organisation considered a four-day work week after seeing the workplace benefits reported in the global trial.

‘We wanted to be ahead of the pack,’ Mr Moriarty said. ‘We were looking at the global research and we thought it was worth the risk.’

Our Community still pays employees the same wage despite reducing their hours by 20 per cent.

Some companies operate on four day weeks with longer hours, but Mr Moriarty believes it’s not ideal to force more hours in. 

‘I don’t think you should be calling it a four day work week if you cram more hours in those four days.’ 

He added that it was time for reform in workplaces after years of little change.

‘Unions fought for an eight hour work day 172 years ago. Nothing has happened in the workplace in 172 years. Workplaces are killing people.’ 

Denis Moriarty (pictured) is trialling a four-day work week at his company, Our Community. He told Daily Mail Australia his employees are ‘loving it’ and he has no plans to revert back to five days once the trial period ends 

In the global trial, 88 per cent of companies said there were ‘extremely likely’ or ‘likely’ to continue on with a four-day work week after the trial ended (stock image)

In the global trial run by 4 Day Week Global, companies were sent questionnaires about their experiences with their reduced work weeks.

Of the 41 firms that responded, 88 per cent said the four-day week was working ‘well’; 46 per cent said productivity was the same; 34 per cent said it had ‘improved slightly’; and 15 per cent said it had ‘improved significantly’.

But the most surprising result was that 88 per cent of companies said they were ‘extremely likely’ or ‘likely’ to continue on with a four-day work week after the trial ended.

Other benefits from a four-day work week included a reduction in carbon emissions and improved staff mental health. 

An Australasian trial is currently being run and overseen by researchers at the University of Sydney, Boston College, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and the University of Queensland.