Employers urged to consider fourday week concept

PRIME Minister Jacinda Ardern’s comments encouraging employers to explore a fourday working week are being met with mixed reactions from the business and tourism sectors.

Ms Ardern floated the idea during a visit to Rotorua this week, as a way of encouraging people to holiday more and kickstart domestic travel.

The concept typically involves staff working 40 hours over four days, leaving them threeday weekends.

While some say it is out of the question, others say now is the time for considering new ideas.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts said this would help to feed operators while the international market remained closed.

‘‘I think any idea is worth considering at the moment.

‘‘A threeday weekend, we know, encourages people to travel and move around the country so that would be good for tourism.

‘‘It’s obviously not going to work for every industry.

‘‘We wouldn’t be expecting those people who are doing it tough to then be considering using that time off for travel and spending money on a holiday.’’

The idea has been quashed by Cooperative Business New Zealand, which represents the likes of dairy giant Fonterra, Foodstuffs and Mitre 10.

Chief executive Roz Henry said its members supported flexible working hours, but four days was not feasible for people in farming, for example.

‘‘The majority of these organisations either supply or support the primary sector, and the cows and the sheep and the produce don’t wait.’’

An organisational psychologist said science told us the idea could work well.

Dianne Gardner, of Massey University, said research from New Zealand and overseas supported having fewer days in a working week.

‘‘It gives more leisure time, it can increase satisfaction with the job and it doesn’t necessarily mean people are less productive at work, but it has to be carefully planned.’’

Caveats included being clear about expectations and making sure the arrangement did not add to stress, Dr Gardner said.

Tourism operator Geoff McDonald, head of Skyline Queenstown, said the move could inadvertently sting the industry.

‘‘The flip side to some businesses, particularly in hospitality, is you could end up paying a lot more in wages and time and ahalf, that sort of thing.’’

Hospitality providers, for example, were contractbound to pay staff time and ahalf if they worked extended hours.

‘‘If employment laws were looked at to allow businesses to do that sort of thing without having to incur these . . . costs and so forth, it could be a really positive thing.’’ — RNZ