More businesses adopt four-day work week
A four-day work week is a pipe dream for many, but for employees at Adelaide software design agency CodeFish Studio it’s a reality.
Staff at the business work a 32-hour week from Monday to Thursday while they continue to receive their full-time salaries.
Director Sim Penzo said a reduction in the hours on the clock seemed to improve employees’ wellbeing and productivity.
“It was one of the options that we decided was really good for the work-life balance that we always believed in,” Penzo said.
“Certainly their quality of work that is being done in a shorter week has increased.”
A new study from the University of South Australia has confirmed that extra time off has health benefits, even when it is only a three-day break.
“People have a real weekday, weekend pattern to how they move and how they sleep and how much they sit down,” Dr Ty Ferguson said.
Researchers tracked the daily movements of 300 adults while on holiday.
They found people were 13 per cent more active each day and were sitting down five per cent less.
“Work-life balance and getting that extra time away for health, that’s why vacations are quite important for our health,” Ferguson said.
Research shows people have healthier lifestyle patterns when they take the opportunity to rest more often.
“People have that extra freedom to spend their time how they need to,” Ferguson said.
Just over a third of Australian companies expect their organisations will transition to a four-day work week within the next five years.
