The clock is ticking: 40% of Aussies expect a four-day work week within five years
Published: 11 April, 2023
- 40% of Australian professionals believe a four-day work week will become a reality within the next five years
- 21% say it’ll take up to a decade to become reality
There is growing optimism among Australian professionals about the reality of a four-day working week.
According to a poll of almost 42,000 professionals by recruitment and workforce solutions specialists Hays, 40 per cent of respondents believe the four-day work week could become a reality within the next five years. A further 21 per cent think it will take up to a decade to come into effect.
However, 16 per cent believe a four-day work week could be a reality within the next 12 months. The final 23 per cent believe it will never materialise.
This follows news from the Australian Services Union of the first four-day work week at full-time pay EBA and the Senate Select Committee on Work and Care’s report recommending a four-day work week trial based on the 100-80-100 model (see below).
Unilever, Bright Agency and Our Community are examples of organisations that have already trialled or adopted four-day work weeks in Australia.
“The four-day work week has been a topic of discussion for several years, but the pandemic shifted the way we work and now many professionals continue to prize flexibility,” said Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director of Hays in Australia & New Zealand.
“Proponents argue a four-day work week can boost productivity, improve employee morale and wellbeing, and reduce stress and burnout. At a time of talent shortages, it can also aid candidate attraction, engagement and retention.
“However, there are also concerns about the practicalities. Many employers worry that a shorter work week could lead to decreased productivity, increased labour costs in organisations that require staff onsite five days a week and increased pressure on staff to meet current outcomes in fewer hours.
“Despite this, it seems that many workers are optimistic about the prospect of a four-day working week becoming a reality. As organisations continue to experiment with different working patterns, it will be interesting to see if this optimism is justified and whether the four-day work week will become more widely adopted in the years ahead.”
4 Day Week Global’s 100-80-100 model
The 100-80-100 principle was developed by 4 Day Week Global and holds that employees receive 100 per cent pay for 80 per cent time and 100 per cent of productivity targets achieved. It’s the main framework used by organisations when trialling or adopting a four-day work week.
There are four main variations of how this can be implemented:
- All work stops on day five and an organisation shuts down entirely for one extra day a week;
- Teams or individual staff members stagger their days off;
- Different departments adopt different work patterns, such as shorter days worked across all five days;
- Hours are seasonally adjusted, with staff working 32 hours on average per week across the year.
Lessons from abroad
A separate Hays survey in the UK of over 9,600 respondents found five per cent of organisations have introduced or are trialling a four-day work week and nine per cent are considering it. Over half (53 per cent) of the professionals surveyed would consider moving jobs for this working pattern. These professionals also said a four-day work week would improve their mental health and wellbeing (69 per cent), organisational productivity (12 per cent) and talent attraction (5 per cent).
A UK trial involving 60 organisations and almost 3,000 workers found revenue, employee health and wellbeing and job satisfaction all rose, while absenteeism, turnover, stress, burnout and fatigue declined. Almost every organisation in the trial plans to continue with a four-day week.
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About the poll: The poll was conducted on LinkedIn in late March and early April 2023. 41,965 professionals voted.
For further information please contact Kathryn Crowden at kathryn.crowden@hays.com.au
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in recruitment and workforce solutions, such as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP). The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional, and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany, and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As of 31 December 2024, the Group employed over 10,300 staff operating from 225 offices in 33 countries.
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