New Zealand exploring the 4 day work week

New Zealand is eyeing off the four day work week with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern encouraging employees to give the shortened working week a try. This comes after trust company successfully trialed the four day work week and opted to offer it permanently to their 240 staff after discovering that it both boosted productivity and the well-being and happiness of their staff.

Other companies in other countries such as Japan have had similar success with the four day work week and now Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is suggesting that New Zealand businesses give it go, suggesting that the four day work week could be a great method to boost domestic tourism in the country. The Prime Minister is however leaving the choice to try the four day work week up to companies, saying that it’s ultimately their decision. She was quick to point out that many companies have now witnesses the benefits of flexible working arrangements for themselves. It seems likely that many businesses in New Zealand will now be ready to more permanently adopt shorter working weeks or work from home arrangements for their staff.

In New Zealand domestic tourism is a crucial industry and is responsible for generating a large proportion of the country’s GDP, longer weekends for staff could help to promote domestic travel and could help to keep the hundreds of thousands of tourism workers in the country employed.

The four day work week has received praise from the companies who have tried it with almost all of them finding that employee satisfaction and productivity increased. New Zealand has been celebrated in past years for it’s great work/life balance and shorter working weeks could also be a way for companies to attract and retain great talent, even from overseas in the future.