29 businesses join 4-day workweek pilot in South Africa
4 Day Week South Africa’s sign-up deadline has passed, and 28 South African businesses and one Botswanan business are confirmed to participate in the four-day workweek pilot starting on 1 March 2023.
It’s the country’s first-ever trial of the four-day week. This means 500 South African business owners and employees will test out a reduced working week with the aim of improving workplace productivity, well-being, talent attraction and retention, said Karen Lowe, Director of 4 Day Week SA.
The 4 Day Week is based on the 100-80-100 model, developed by co-founders of 4 Day Week Global, Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart.
The model prescribes 100% of the pay for 80% of the time in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.
Some of the companies taking part in the pilot are:
- Precision Vehicle and Asset Tracking – an ICT security company from Botswana;
- jt&a – QCTO Accreditation Advisory Services;
- Dream Team Catalyst – events and consulting company;
- Tax Maverick and The Tax Ladies – providing tax and finance services;
- Communicare – specialists in social housing and property development;
- Elnatan IT Solutions – an IT sales and support company;
- Marais Software Solutions – an IT software development company;
- 2Stories – marketing agency;
- APSO – employment services company; and
- Maties Gymnasium – Stellenbosch University’s fitness gymnasium.
“To have 29 companies joining South Africa’s first-ever pilot of the four-day week is a testament to the forward-thinking of business in this country. Pilot participants are embracing the idea that it’s time to change the nearly 100-year-old convention of a five-day week.”
“Reduced work hours are a central tenet to the future of work, and there is potentially so much to be gained and nothing to lose from the experiment,” said Lowe.
Most companies participating in the pilot noted that employee well-being is one of their top priorities in 2023, and the promise of fostering a culture of productivity simultaneously made it very attractive.
“Everyone will win. A happy team creates great work, and great work leads to happy clients,” said 2Stories chief content officer Anelde Greeff.
“To enhance our employee value proposition, we believe that implementing the four-day work week could have a further positive impact on mental wellness as it will provide our people with some valuable extra time to spend with their loved ones and ultimately contribute to a more positive experience for our customer,” said Communicare COO Makhosi Kubheka.
However, Abigail Butcher, an associate in the Employment Law practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, noted that feedback around the change has been mixed.
“While the idea of a four-day work week appears to increase the morale of employees, the fact that their productivity must remain despite fewer hours could result in burnout and increased stress,” she said.
Kirk Kruger, a reward specialist with the South African Reward Association (SARA), said that South African businesses as a whole are likely not ready to adopt a four-day workweek permanently.
However, he said it could be viable for companies such as those that have joined the pilot, as they are more likely to be niche organisations, such as smaller and medium-sized technology companies.
Nonetheless, Lowe added that research findings from global trials continue to make a clear case for the four-day week.
The most notable outcomes from global trials are listed below:
- On average, revenue increased across all companies by 8.1% over the trial period and increased by 38% compared to the same period in 2021;
- Employee fatigue decreased by 10%;
- Employee stress and mental health issues decreased by 32% and 38%, respectively;
- On average, employees engaged in 27 minutes of additional physical activity per week;
- Work and family life balance increased by 60%, while relationships with colleagues and family members improved by 44.9%; and
- Overall, life satisfaction increased by 57.5%.
The reports also noted that participating companies rated the trial a nine out of ten, expressing extreme satisfaction with their overall productivity and performance – with none of the companies returning to a five-day week post-trial.
Recruitment is already underway for South Africa’s second four-day week pilot, due to kick off in May 2023. Organisations wanting to be part of the subsequent trial can sign up by logging on to www.4dayweek.co.za.
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