Major shift in the way ALL Aussies work with a parliamentary committee recommending a nationwide trial for a four day work week
- Trial of four-day work week would see how it improves lives
- Pilot would be distributed across industries and across Australia
Australia could get a national trial of the four-day work week to see how it improves the lives of those juggling work and caring responsibilities.
A parliamentary committee has recommended a federal government-backed trial of the four-day work week based on the “100:80:100” model, where workers keep their full pay and maintain full productivity despite working 80 percent of the week.
The pilot would be spread across different sectors and carried out in collaboration with an Australian university.
The four-day workweek model has been successfully trialled at companies in Australia and beyond, with participants reporting improved productivity, work-life balance, health and well-being, and the normalization of care as part of work.
The pilot has been recommended as one of the measures to help people find a better balance between work and care tasks.
Australia could get a national trial of the four-day work week to see how it improves the lives of those juggling work and caring responsibilities. In the photo a 20-year-old female catering employee
The Senate Select Committee on Work and Care also proposed a Fair Work Commission review of the 38-hour week, including if tougher penalties for long hours are needed, and installing a “right to disconnect” outside the working hours.
Under the proposal, employers will not be allowed to contact employees outside of working hours unless it is an emergency.
Commission chair Barbara Pocock said Australia was an international outlier in terms of supporting workers with caring responsibilities.
“We have fallen too far behind,” said the Green senator.
“And we pay a price in labor supply, stressed workers and gender inequality.”
Commenting on the four-day workweek trial, Senator Pocock said more flexibility can actually improve productivity.
A committee recommended the “100:80:100” model, in which employees keep their full pay and maintain full productivity despite working 80 percent of the week. In the photo a female construction traffic controller
Nonprofit organization Momentum Mental Health is experimenting with the 100:80:100 model with positive results, with plans to extend the policy beyond the six-month trial.
The organization’s CEO, Deborah Bailey, said the shortened workweek has improved both productivity and employee well-being.
She said workers with care responsibilities could attend appointments and spend time with children or elderly parents without having to squeeze it in before work or on their lunch break.
“We’ve found that we’ve given people the capacity to take on those caring responsibilities and their productivity has also increased,” Ms Bailey told AAP.
She said the productivity boost was made possible by putting more into the standard work day, such as fewer and shorter meetings.
Other proposals in the comprehensive report, which has the support of Labor senators, include finding a way to increase Commonwealth-funded paid parental leave to 52 weeks.
The Senate Select Committee on Work and Care also proposed a Fair Work Commission review of the 38-hour work week. Pictured is a female bartender
Other proposals include raising Commonwealth-funded paid parental leave to 52 weeks. Pictured are two construction controllers in Sydney
Primary carers are currently entitled to 18 weeks, but Labor pledged last year to extend leave entitlements to 26 weeks.
The committee also called for higher wages for workers in childcare, disability and elderly care, and a right to predictable, stable schedules.
“Work-life balance is a distant dream for too many people,” said Senator Pocock.
“Especially those who experience the nightmare of last-minute shift changes that make finding care for loved ones or children impossible.”