August 2023 saw the end of the first four-day workweek pilot in South Africa which ran for six months as part of the 4 Day Week Global campaign. Earlier in the year, employee total reward experts Remchannel conducted their own survey across 67 local companies on this workplace trend, which revealed valuable insights from local employers.

In a recent episode of Old Mutual Corporate’s Big Business Insights podcast series, host and Managing Executive at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants Blessing Utete sat down with Lindiwe Sebesho, Remchannel’s Managing Director Designate, to discuss the results.

The conversation also explored the idea of allowing employees to work only 32 hours (four eight-hour days) a week. When and where is it viable? What do South African employers think about it? How should they weave it into their employee value propositions?

Here are some of Blessing and Lindiwe’s key takeouts.

It’s not about working less or reducing costs

“The four-day workweek is based on the 100-80-100 model developed by 4 Day Week Global,” says Lindiwe. “The model states that pay must remain at 100% for employees who work 80% of the time in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output. Based on this, the four-day workweek is not about reducing costs or getting less output. Rather, it is about improving workplace productivity and employee well-being, as employees working according to this system would still earn the same as they would on a five-day system.”

The four-day workweek is part of an important bigger picture

“Organisations need to think about the challenges they are facing from a value proposition (EVP) perspective, and whether a four-day workweek will address those challenges or not,” Sebesho says. “Each organisation needs to take its context into consideration before adopting a four-day workweek.”

While the four-day workweek can be a positive enhancement to an organisations’ EVP, she points out that it must achieve three key things: reduce time spent at work, improve employee wellbeing and increase productivity.

“It is also vital that organisations think about how to best to implement the four-day workweek system in line with their customer and employee needs,” she emphasises. “As part of engaging their people, organisations need to understand what makes employees at different levels more productive and then structure the employment environment accordingly.”

It’s not a one-size-fits all system

A reduced workweek may not work for everybody, Sebesho warns. “Organisations should therefore consider what type of work can be done within a reduced workweek while producing the same level of output and most importantly, meeting customer’s needs.”

In South Africa, various organisations are looking at how best to structure a 32-hour week. This might not necessarily mean taking a Monday or Friday off. Some companies are giving their employees two half-days off a week, while others rotate the day off depending on workload, work cycles, employee preferences, etc.

Sebesho stresses that context is crucial whenever an organisation considers enhancing its EVP. Key aspects to consider include the type of business you are in, your product/service offering, your customers' needs, the type of skills required to deliver your products/services as well as how best to attract, motive and retain top talent. “Be clear about what it is that you are trying to address in terms of offering any of the various benefits that make up your EVP,” she says.

SA organisations seem positive about it

Remchannel’s survey on the four-day workweek, published soon after the pilot launched in South Africa, showed that 90% of the survey respondents believed that it would improve the work-life balance of their employees. In addition, 61% believed that it would improve employee performance and 72% believed that it would increase talent retention.

Want to hear more? Listen to the full podcast here (approx. 20 minutes).