Pilot STUDY reveals what a 4-day workweek in SA would look like

A 4-day workweek in SA sounds pretty good, right!? Less time behind your desk, more time with your family. The people at 4 Day Week SA thought the same and created the first such pilot study in South Africa.

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Trials of this sort have already been conducted in the UK, New Zealand and Japan, with the consensus being overwhelmingly positive. South Africa’s started on 1 March 2023 and ends this month. However, an interim report reveals mixed results for the efficacy of the 4-day workweek in SA, reports Business Tech.

4-DAY WORKWEEK IN SA

Companies that wanted to trial the 4-day workweek in SA could sign-up on the 4 Day Week SA website. The model prescribe a 100-80-100 split. As in 100% of the pay, 80% of the time, 100% of the work output. 28 local businesses participated in this first pilot for a 4-day workweek in SA, including financial, marketing, HR, and IT software companies.

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The director of 4 Day Week SA, Karen Lowe, said the well-being metrics for staff from the 4-day workweek in SA were off the charts:

• Reduced stress and burnout.
• Reduced negative sentiment towards work.
• Lower instances of family conflicts at home.
• Reduced staff attrition and turnover.
• Less sick days taken with lower staff absenteeism.

MIXED RESULTS

However, Lowe added that there were also a few unique challenges to the 4-day workweek in SA. She said participating companies were less successful than other nations at reducing their weekly working hours by the mandated 20%.

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“The pilot found that South African companies are not taking the reduced work hours off. South African companies are only managing around a 12% reduction in the work week for 100% of productivity. Only a few have crept towards the mandated 20% mark,” said Lowe.

SOME COMPANIES GOT CREATIVE

Rather than simply reducing the week by one day, pilot companies of the 4-day workweek in SA have been exploring fortnightlies – one day off every two weeks – or structuring the time off through two half days. But it hasn’t been enough.

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Another interesting spanner in the works of the 4-day workweek in SA is the issue of South Africa’s many public holidays. Lowe said many local companies simply couldn’t continue with the model when public holidays were added into the mix.

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The 100-80-100 workload could not be managed over the month when public holidays were adding to the equation. April in 2023, had only 17 trading days in the entire month. “April was a reset month, as businesses couldn’t cope with the intensity of the workload and decided not to take the 4-day workweek in addition to the public holidays,” said Lowe.

A 4-DAY WORKWEEK NOT ALL IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE

So, there you have it, the 4-daywork week in SA is not all it’s cracked up to be. Well, not just yet, anyway. The companies are unable to reduce work time accordingly, and South Africa’s plethora of public holidays kind of gives office workers a 4-day workweek already.

What are your thoughts on a 4-day workweek in SA? Would you welcome it to spend more time with your family, or do you think it would lead to more stress and reduced productivity in the long run? Share your thoughts with our audience in the comments section below.