These South African companies to start trialling 4-day work week

Companies that will give 4-day work week a bash in South Africa from February have started signing up and some are even suggesting what people can do with their extra day off.

The 4-Day Week SA Pioneer Pilot is the country’s first ever trial.

IQbusiness, a management and technology consulting firm, last week took the lead in announcing its participation in the pioneer pilot and was joined by market research and insights consultancy KLA, web design and development company Big Beard Web Solutions, business change makers Semco Style Institute South Africa, career strategist Licia Dewing and cloud-based financial solutions provider Valuesmart Business Solutions.

The first advertising agency to join is 3Verse, joined by Social Happiness, a digital marketing agency, The OMG, a business consulting firm, Social Impact Insights, a social impact planning and measurement company, EntruTech, a managed IT solutions provider, Intigrate Business Solutions, an accounting and business advisory firm and Nkwali Compliance Consultants.

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Companies can still sign up

Companies that still sign up for the pioneer pilot until 15 January 2023. Companies will complete a two-week intensive onboarding to get ready.

Karen Lowe, director of 4 Day Week SA, says thanks to the growing interest in a reduced hour working week, a second pilot is planned to start in May 2023.

“Smaller companies and those in the professional services sector are generally the early trialists of a four-day week, because it is easier for them to make big changes, but we help companies of all sizes across different industry sectors to take a carefully imagined approach to adopting this new way of working.”

She says the organisation is actively recruiting for the second pilot, with signup closing on 28 February 2023.

Lowe says South African pilot participants will test out a new way of working recognised as a way to support and empower workers, enhance organisational productivity and have a positive impact on societies and the environment.

It is based on the 100-80-100™ model which prescribes 100% of the pay, 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output. They will be supported by 4 Day Week Global, the experts running trials all over the world, in collaboration with 4 Day Week SA.

Research findings from trials across the globe make a clear case for the four-day week. Lowe says this is illustrated by the fact that midway through the current trial in the UK, most participating companies say they had no loss of productivity during the experiment and a significant improvement in some cases.

There were also positive results from trials run in Ireland and the US, expected to be released at the end of November.

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This is why companies decided to participate

“Trialling the four-day week and the data behind it is something every leader needs to seriously consider in their business.

A reduction in working hours has been proven to increase business productivity, improve employee health outcomes, while working towards building a more sustainable working environment. This offers people the time and solitude to simultaneously build stronger families and communities, while remaining fulfilled and successful at work.”

– Adam Craker, CEO of IQBusiness

“As a world class insights consultancy, we are committed to contribute to a healthy and flourishing environment.

We understand that modern day pressures and changing value systems require a re-think of traditional approaches to work and work life balance. Innovating to be better is in our genes.

We are excited to be in a position to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from the wealth of learning and experience that this pilot will offer.”

– Jenni Pennacchini, director: business solutions at KLA

“As part of a personal 2022 mission to be more organised, structured and consistent, I happened upon the pilot programme. In chasing after the Big Beard Web Solutions ‘why’, the main motivation is to adopt a people-focused approach in answer to our most pressing challenges.”

– Nathan L Simons, founder and managing director at Big Beard Web Solutions

“At Semco Style Institute we believe that devolving power to employees, we are able to create wiser companies that are simultaneously more productive and have a happier workforce.

We believe that the 4 Day Week movement plays a vital role in the creation of productive and rewarding working environments.”

– Christiaan Grové, partner and co-founder Semco Style.

“We joined the four-day week in the hope that we can improve the overall wellness of our staff. People are the most important part of our business and if we do not have happy people, we do not have happy clients.”

– Willie van Dyk, CEO at Valuesmart Business Solutions

“When we founded the agency, one of the pillars the three partners agreed upon was that family was all important.

We had spent our careers at multi-national agencies where ‘work hard, play hard’ was the ethos. We chose to separate the two – work hard, then go home and play.

The 4-day-week allows us to indulge in the suburban cliché to ‘Live, Laugh & Love’ – fuel to work smarter, more efficiently and with more insight.”

– Ivan Johnson, creative partner at 3Verse

“Working with established and emerging leaders across industries to help them identify and attain their work for purpose includes defining a work/life balance.

Increasingly, my client base arrives at burnout before they know it, which means a longer road to recovery to identify their purpose mission before they can get to do their best work.”

– Licia Dewing, career strategist

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60% would be happy to work 4 days a week

A recent survey conducted by Auto & General Insurance among 3 500 participants found that 71% of the respondents were once again office bound following the Covid-19 shut-down and 52% of them said their workplace did not offer a flexible working policy.

It is therefore no surprise then that over 60% thought the 4-day work week was an excellent idea.

When asked what they would do with the extra day, 32% said they would spend more time with family, 18% would use the time to study, 16% would explore personal business endeavours and 12% would rest and recharge.

“The workplace of the future prioritises wellbeing, flexibility and sustainability. Whether that comes in the form of a 4-day week, a hybrid policy or a commute-worthy office environment, it is the cornerstone of an attractive employee value proposition,” Ricardo Coetzee, head of Auto & General Insurance, says.

He says he noted an uptick in requests for Auto & General’s drive less/pay less vehicle insurance product, Coffee, which was launched during the height of the pandemic.

“While work from home may now be a pipedream for many South Africans, it is still business unusual. At Auto & General, a number of our employees are blending in-office and remote work and the popularity of our Coffee product suggests that our customers’ employers are too.”