Telstra, Unilever, Medibank, NIB trial four-day work week in Australia with promise to keep pay same
>
Major Australian companies are testing the idea of removing one day from the work week without reducing pay.
The four-day work week is a trend that is gaining momentum overseas, and several major Australian companies are getting on board.
Corporate giants Telstra, Medibank, NIB and Grant Thornton are finalizing plans to implement a four-day work week.
Several major Australian companies are testing the four-day work week (file image pictured)
They will join Unilever, the giant behind household brands Dove, Ben & Jerry’s, Lynx and Magnum, which began a one-year, four-day week trial in November.
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said the aussie that moving to a four-day work week was the next evolution after many people began working from home during the Covid period.
“There’s no talk of going back to the old ways of working at Telstra; we’re not wasting time debating who should be in the office and when,” he said.
‘We are all-in in hybrid. For us, work is something you do, not a place you go.
Nonprofit tech provider Our Community says the four-day week is revolutionizing its work environment
“They (staff) do more work in the four days,” Our Community founder Denis Moriaty told Seven News.
Unilever, the company behind Ben & Jerry’s ice cream along with other prominent brands, has been testing the four-day week in Australia and New Zealand.
“They come in with more energy, they’re more engaged.”
Creative arts crowdfunding platform Kickstarter was also excited about the results they were achieving in a four-day week.
“The 4-day week has been transformative for our business and our people,” said Chief Strategy Officer Jon Leland.
‘The staff are more focused, more engaged and more dedicated, helping us achieve our goals better than ever before.
“Greater employee retention and faster hiring have also been surprisingly powerful in driving better business results.”
Before introducing the four-day week at its Australian offices, Unilever ran an 18-month trial in New Zealand.
RMIT Online CEO Claire Hopkins (pictured) argues that flexibility is highly valued by staff in the workplace
The company reported that absenteeism fell by a third with reduced stress and conflict between work and personal life.
The health union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Association, is campaigning for a four-day week for its members.
“All the evidence shows that it’s worth it because at the moment we have an incredible number of people on leave, fatigued,” the union’s deputy secretary, Paul Gilbert, told Seven News.
The stress of the Covid period, where many workplaces have been understaffed, has made burnout a major factor in the workplace, giving rise to the ‘quiet quitting’ trend where staff put in the hours required but doing the minimum. .
RMIT Online chief executive Claire Hopkins told Daily Mail Australia in September that it was important for workplaces to focus on productivity as stress mounted.
Unilever, whose CEO is Alan Jope (pictured), said the four-day-a-week trial in New Zealand had very encouraging results.
“Shifting the focus to measurable goals that align with business results, rather than time on a seat, is absolutely part of this equation,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“Shifting the focus to measurable goals that align with business results, rather than time in a seat, is absolutely part of this equation.”
Another advantage of the four-day week is that it encourages mothers and others with external demands on their time to rejoin the workforce.
Ms. Brady said getting more people into the workforce is a challenge for the nation.
“To get real movement, the industry can do more, in collaboration with the government, to increase participation,” he said.
Unfortunately, not all workplaces are well-suited to implementing the four-day week (stock image pictured)
‘For starters, it’s not just about being flexible in the workplace, but also about hours and days.’
Surveys have shown that working flexibility has become an important consideration for many workers, something bosses need to take into account if they want to recruit and retain top talent, Ms. Hopkins said.
“Flexibility is absolutely a critical factor in the future of work,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“While that may be through a four-day work week (and initial test feedback has been positive in terms of business productivity and employee satisfaction), flexibility can take many forms and shouldn’t be the only one. factor that companies consider.
‘For example, we do “Focus Friday” at RMIT Online to create a space for knowledge work.’
Medibank joins other corporate titans like Telstra, NIB and Grant Thornton in testing the four-day work week.
In December, Daily Mail Australia reported that there has been a steady increase in four-day-week job postings, strengthening the argument that the five-day week could be a relic of factory-based schedules. .
Organizational psychologist Amanda Gordon saw the positive side of the shorter work week, but conceded that it did not have universal application.
‘There are some jobs in which it is not possible. But for many jobs, the result is being able to focus intensely on what you’re doing,” Gordon said.
International Global Advocacy Group 4 Global Day Week collaborates with employers to test the four-day work week.
He says there have been successful trials in New Zealand (where the idea came from), Canada, the US, the UK and Ireland.
Day Week Global co-founder Charlotte Lockhart noted that more pilots would launch in February.
“We look forward to expanding this research in the coming months, as other organizations across a variety of industries and economies shift to production-focused, reduced work hours,” he said.
“Change is imminent and I congratulate everyone involved in this trial for making history happen.”