In New Zealand, a company tested the 4-day week

In New Zealand, Perpetual Guardian has launched a rather interesting experiment! The wealth management company decided to reduce the week of its employees to four days, while allowing them to keep their salary, for a probationary period of two months, As The Guardian reports.

240 employees were observed and interviewed by the researchers before, during, and after the trial period, specifically the months of March and April. And it was positive: Satisfaction with work-life balance, that is, the fact that employees feel they are managing their work and personal activities well, increased by 24%.

In November 2017, more than half of employees (54%) felt this balance was satisfactory, while 78% thought so after 2 months! These employees’ stress also decreased by 7 points, while their commitment and motivation increased by 5 points.

concerned personnel

This experiment was conducted along with the employees who participated in the process and in particular had their opinion on the days during which they came to work, so that this reduction in working time does not affect their productivity. They also thought about tools and initiatives that would allow them to be more efficient, from automating certain tasks to reducing the time they spend online for non-professional reasons.

The New Zealand Minister of Labor himself welcomed the company’s initiative, and the company plans to implement this pace of work in the long term.