For those of us that watched enviously as countries overseas began experimenting with the four-day work week, we have some good news – it’s arrived in South Africa! This month, the country’s first pilot programme kicks off with over 20 companies taking part, and a second trial slated for May 2023.
Research findings from trials in other countries (including the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States) have made a clear case for the four-day week. Most participating companies have found no loss of productivity during the experiment, and in some cases have seen a significant improvement.
In fact, this new way of working has been designed to improve productivity in the workplace as well as wellness, improving the lives of individuals, families and communities at the same time. It’s based on the 100-80-100™ model which prescribes 100% of the pay, 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output. So, the hope is that while employees will be working less hours, the added rest and focus will result in higher efficiency and returns for the company.
Motivating the Move
A great example of this is from Ivan Johnson, the Creative Partner of advertising agency 3Verse which is taking part in the pilot programme. “When we founded the agency, one of the pillars the three partners agreed upon was that family was all important,” says Ivan. “We had spent our careers at multi-national agencies where ‘work hard, play hard’ was the ethos. We chose to separate the two – work hard, then go home and play. Good work happens because of great insight. To be insightful is to live. To live you need to have a life beyond the office. The 4-day-week allows us to indulge in the suburban cliché to ‘Live, Laugh & Love’ – fuel to work smarter, more efficiently and with more insight.”
And it’s not just those in the creative field that are trying on the 4-day week to see if it’s a good fit. IQbusiness, South Africa’s largest management and technology consulting firm, is also taking part. “Trialling the four-day week, and the data behind it, is something every leader needs to seriously consider in their business,” says Adam Craker, CEO.
“A reduction in working hours has been proven to increase business productivity, improve employee health outcomes, while working towards building a more sustainable working environment. This offers people the time and solitude to simultaneously build stronger families and communities, while remaining fulfilled and successful at work. Our participation in South Africa’s pilot is going to be enhanced by the supervision of respected experts at the Stellenbosch Business School as we boldly embrace the future of business”
Working Smartly
As mentioned, the key focus of the 4-day week is improving productivity which Andrew Barnes, co-founder of 4 Day Week Global, believes can only happen through empowering people to rethink how they work. “It’s a very personal deal between individuals and their employers and between individuals and their work colleagues,” he says.
So, what needs to change to make the 4-day week possible? Studies have shown that the average worker loses 2 – 3 hours of their day to unnecessary meetings, poor technology implementations, and distractions. To get those hours back, meetings can be shortened and restructured, technology used more thoughtfully, and the workday redesigned to build in distinct periods for focused work, meetings, and breaks and social time.
However, it’s not just about taking a Friday off – the model isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s about giving people the time that works best for them. This could be a four-day week, or five shorter days to facilitate transport challenges, or even giving workers different days off so that there is always a presence in the office.
Chantel Cloete, Operations Manager from Entrutech, a managed IT solutions provider, puts it simply when asked why they’re taking part in the trial: “Happy Employees result in happy clients.”
Could the four-day work week be the future? We’ll have to wait to find out the results of the initial trial, but its success in South Africa could mean very exciting things for future work/life balance!
