Achieving work/life balance is a goal of just about everyone. An increasing number of full-time workers are trying to achieve it by having a four-day work week instead of the usual 5. They still work the same number of hours, they just add a couple of hours to each of their four working days so that they can have a third day each week off.
A recent survey suggests more than 1 in 4 Australian businesses are now offering a four-day work week as an optional benefit to help with staff recruitment and retention. Read on to find out the benefits of doing that, as well as the ways you might be able to arrange it in your business.
The benefits of a four-day work week
A four-day working week can provide:
- Staff lifestyle and mental health benefits,
- Potential environmental benefits.
Staff lifestyle and mental health benefits
Imagine having three days off each week instead of two! Think of how much extra time you’d have for relaxing and doing the things you enjoy. It’s an undeniable fact that work can be a significant contributor to stress levels — especially overwork.
Spending more time away from work can boost your mental health by reducing your stress levels. This in turn can boost your productivity when you are at work, because you’ll feel fresher.
Environmental benefits
You and your staff commuting one less day to work each week can have environmental benefits as well. Less cars on the road means less carbon emissions. The carbon dioxide produced by cars contributes to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
How to achieve a 4 day work week in your business
Of course, if you’re going to offer your staff a 4 day working week to take advantage of the benefits, you need to make sure that the productivity in your organisation doesn’t suffer as a result. You also need to ensure that your customers and clients aren’t negatively affected. Ways that you can do that include:
- Investing in technology.
- Rostering your staff effectively.
Let’s look at each of these methods in turn.
Invest in technology
One of the benefits of technology is the ability to automate time-consuming tasks so that more work can be accomplished in less time. The right technology can increase the productivity of your staff. Asset finance can help you to get the technology you need without eating into your working capital.
Roster effectively
Not everyone in your organisation needs to have the same additional day off each week. If they do, your organisation will effectively be shut down for a day, which may affect your customers.
Rostering a 4-day week effectively among your staff is the key to ensuring that your customers won’t notice the difference. You may even enhance the hours your staff are available by them being on call for an extra couple of hours on the days they are working.
While a 4-day work week has the potential to provide many benefits to you and your team, It’s important to think of both your staff and your customers if you’re planning to introduce a 4-day working week in your business.
If you'd like to learn how Earlypay's Invoice Finance & Equipment Finance can help you boost your working capital to fund growth or keep on top of day-to-day operations of your business, contact Earlypay's helpful team today on 1300 760 205, visit our sign-up form or contact [email protected].