Output boon in four-day week
Women should stop negotiating on hours and start negotiating on their productivity, the head of a company trialling a four-day work week says.
Perpetual Guardian released the results of its four-day working week trial yesterday. The company claimed productivity had increased by 20 per cent, and staff members were more engaged and enthusiastic.
Managing director Andrew Barnes said for him, productivity was the key determinant of pay.
‘‘Women generally are paid less because they work fewer hours after returning to work from maternity leave, even though they might be delivering the same level of productivity as someone working five days a week,’’ he said.
Workers were paid for five days but only worked four days a week throughout the eight-week trial, which was held earlier this year. The hours were rostered, and days staff could take off were staggered.
Two Auckland academics who assessed the trial found a big jump in perceptions of work-life balance.
Dr Helen Delaney, a senior management lecturer at the University of Auckland, found the trial increased collaboration and teamwork, with workers describing a mutual willingness to ‘‘help each other out’’.
However, some reported an added feeling of pressure to complete work tasks within a shorter time frame, especially those facing a deadline or experiencing greater workloads due to timing or reduced staffing.
If the trial were to become permanent, Barnes said all employees would be given the option to work four days a week, so long as they delivered on productivity.