A top union has claimed it is only a matter of time before a four-day work week is rolled out across Australia.
Australian Services Union (ASU) official Imogen Sturni described the change as ‘inevitable’ with the reduced work hours an attractive alternative for Australians.
The four-day work week is a global push to change long-entrenched working hours with success already seen in other countries like Sweden, Spain and Belgium.
The model is not about compressing a five-day 38-hour work week into four nine-hour-days, but rather a 32-hour week for the same amount of pay.
Organisations such as Oxfam and Unilever are already trialing the reduced work week in Australia while auditing firm Findex and accounting firm Grant Thornton have introduced nine day fortnights.
Bunnings has also offered a four day work week, but staff will still have to work 38 hours within the shorter time period.
Aussies could soon be working one less day a week as more companies trial a four day work week without slashing pay
The four-day work week is a global push to change long-entrenched working hours with success already seen in other countries like Sweden, Spain and Belgium
‘We see this as very much inevitable. Absolutely I think this (four day work week) will increasingly become the norm,’ Ms Sturni told ABC on Monday.
‘Really, with Covid, though, I think we did see a bit of a reassessment around ‘maybe there are better ways — or at least other ways — of doing things’.
‘What we are seeing very consistently through trials all around the world is that we are seeing productivity increases as results of the four day work week.’
The worldwide push for a shorter work week came about after the Covid pandemic, which saw employees wanting a better work-life balance.
Companies have adopted different models to trial the shortened work week including closing the office on a set day or rotating workers so a business can continue to run.
Most use a model called the ‘100:80:100’, which has staff and their bosses agree to 100 per cent pay, for 80 per cent of the work time, with 100 per cent commitment to productivity.
ASU is in negotiations with another five to 10 enterprises and are discussing work agreements that involve the four day week trial.
Anti-poverty organisation Oxfam Australia is believed to be the first company in the country to have a four-day week trial written into its workplace agreement.
Chief Executive of Operations at Oxfam Australia Lyn Morgain said ‘human capital is at a premium’ and companies need to explore different models that promote a good work culture.
‘There was already a live conversation around how people organise their work, how employees can best look after people as they undertake their work and how we can best organise ourselves to ensure we are getting maximum value out of our work,’ Ms Morgain said.
She added it was critical that the four day model did not reduce productivity of staff as the organisation relies on Australian donations for critical work overseas.
Bunnings has also offered a four day work week, but staff will still have to work 38 hours within the shorter time period
Chief Executive of Operations at Oxfam Australia Lyn Morgain (centre) said ‘human capital is at a premium’ and companies need to explore different models that promote a good work culture
Ms Morgain said the question of ‘value’ was central to the adoption of the four day work week.
Employees along with their bosses ‘co-designed’ an arrangement that best suit productivity expectations, quality and worker’s health and wellbeing.
With more than 100 employees, the non-for-profit is one of the larger organisations to adopt the trial.
Oxfarm Australia is also the first to implement the trial through enterprise bargaining -term for a form of collective bargaining, in which wages and working conditions are negotiated at the level of the individual organisations.
Most four day week trials at smaller companies have been pushed by founders or chief executives.
The Australian Services Union’s role in negotiating four day weeks into working arrangements suggest the trial could shift to larger workforces.
It comes after a parliamentary committee recommended a federal government-backed trial of the four-day work week in March this year.
The Committee on Work and Care backed recommended government agencies adopt the ‘100:80:100’ model to improves the lives of those juggling work and caring responsibilities.
The report made 33 recommendations and backed a raft of changes including a year of paid parental leave and the right to disconnect from work outside of hours.
Consumer goods giant Unilever has 500 of its employees in a four day week year-long trial, which is set to end in November.
However, the concept is expected to continue as the trial shows key performance indicators ‘including revenue growth’ were being exceeded.
Head of Human Rescources at Unilever Australia and New Zealand Shruti Ganeriwala said the trial saw a decrease of 33 per cent in work related stress, a 34 per cent fall in absenteeism and a 67 per cent decrease in work and life conflict.
It comes after a parliamentary committee recommended a federal government-backed trial of the four day work week in March this year. The report backed a raft of changes including a year of paid parental leave and the right to disconnect from work outside of hours
It comes after businesses across Australia trial different working arrangements to improve staff productivity and wellbeing.
Australian auditing firm Findex made a nine-day fortnight permanent in July after trialing the reduced work week for six months.
The firm, which provides financial advisory and accounting services in Australasia, found the nine-day fortnight improved its employees’ health and engagement.
The 340 staff under Findex Group’s auditing arm, Crowe Australasia, receive every second Friday off in return for working extended hours over the nine days.
Accounting firm Grant Thornton started a similar nine-day fortnight trial in March and Bunnings began a four-day work week trial in May.
Bunnings became the first Australian retailer to trial a four-day work week with its 40,000-strong staff.
Full-time Bunnings staff will be given the option to work their 38-hour weeks over four days instead of five, or a nine-day fortnight.
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association national secretary Gerard Dwyer said the deal was a ‘significant breakthrough for work-life balance’.
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