South Africa set to trial 4-day working week

South African employers are set to pilot a four-day working week from early June – but is it all positive?

According to findings from a recent poll by recruiter Robert Walters, of 2 000 working professionals surveyed, the ‘not-so-appealing side’ of the four-day week includes office relationships taking the biggest hit.

This survey comes amid the official pilot scheme for the four-day working week launching in the country early next month.

Jasmine Araujo, a senior manager at Robert Walters South Africa, said workplaces have only just turned a corner and started to see more faces in the office, which has in turned resulted in higher levels of collaboration, creativity and productivity.

Araujo argues that it is a slight kick in the teeth to hear that a progressive well-being initiative such as a four-day week could have such a detrimental impact on workplace culture and business relationships.

“With the trials of four days being so new to many organisations, the long-term impact is difficult to ascertain, however, with 46% of professionals willing to forego socials and business relationships, companies should be mindful that poor company culture comes at a price.

“As with what we experienced with remote working and then the move to hybrid, any change in the workplace brings about its challenges – and a four-day week will be no different; business leaders need to tread with caution,” said Araujo.

Official four-day week trials have already taken place across the UK, Europe and North America, across 60+ companies and around 2 900 employees.

The conclusion of some of these trials has been highlighted by many as a resounding success.

However, when this data is combined with findings from the Robert Walters poll, it seems that possibly only one side of the picture has been painted; as a result it’s important to consider the potentially negative outcomes of a change in working days.

Key findings from the UK’s four-day week pilot trial:

• Overall working hours reduced by only four hours, falling short of the 32 it was meant to achieve
• 28% reported either working more hours, or no change to their five-day week hours
• 49% reported no change in the typical amount of overtime they do – a further 17% reported doing more overtime
• 22% reported an increase in burnout symptoms
• 15% reported an increase in sleeping difficulties, with a further 45% stating their sleeping quality had not improved/changed significantly
• 36% reported no change to work-life balance, while a further 10% reported a decrease
• 26% reported no change to work ability, with 19% reporting a decrease
• Just 2% stated their workload had decreased; 20% reported an increase, and 78% reported no change
• 36% reported work intensity had increased
• 42% reported an increase in complexity of their work

SA companies starting with the pilot:
1. Precision Vehicle and Asset Tracking
2. Tax Maverick
3. Communicare
4. Marais Software
5. Dream Team Catalyst

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