Participants reveal why they signed up for South Africa's first four-day work week trial

South Africa’s largest management and technology consulting firm, an advertising agency and an IT company are among local businesses which have signed up to test the potential benefits of a four-day working week.

The pilot project, which will run from February to July 2023, will see employees take home 100% pay for working 80% of their time, in exchange for delivering 100% output.

IQbusiness joins market research and insights consultancy KLA, web design and development company Big Beard Web Solutions, business changemakers Semco Style Institute South Africa, career strategist Licia Dewing and cloud-based financial solutions provider Valuesmart Business Solutions in the study.

Is a four-day work week what post-pandemic South Africa needs, asked the Sunday Times in a weekend article unpacking the pros and cons thereof as employers grapple with offering a better work-life balance, flexibility and incentives, without denting productivity.

NGO 4 Day Week South Africa has partnered with Boston College and Stellenbosch Business School to research the trial's outcome.

“South African business owners and leaders have been watching the rollout of the world’s biggest four-day week trial in the UK with interest. More than 70 companies are experimenting with this new way of working,” said NGO director Karen Lowe.

“It has triggered a debate on the challenges it could help solve in South Africa. These conversations must continue to evolve and represent all voices.”

Other local firms to sign up include advertising agency 3Verse, digital marketing agency Social Happiness, business consulting firm The OMG, social impact planning and measurement company Social Impact Insights, managed IT solutions provider EntruTech, accounting and business advisory firm Intigrate Business Solutions, and Nkwali Compliance Consultants.

The deadline to sign up for the trial has been extended to January 15 2023.

Lowe said there will be an intensive two-week onboarding session to get participants ready ahead of the launch. A second pilot project is due to start in May next year.

“Trialling the four-day week and the data behind it is something every leader needs to seriously consider in their business,” said IQbusiness CEO Adam Craker.

“A reduction in working hours has been proven to increase business productivity, improve employee health outcomes while working towards building a more sustainable working environment. This offers people the time and solitude to simultaneously build stronger families and communities while remaining fulfilled and successful at work.

“Our participation in South Africa’s pilot is going to be enhanced by the supervision of respected experts at the Stellenbosch Business School as we boldly embrace the future of business.”

Nkwali Compliance Consultants director Amandla Mkhwanazi said: “As a company, we are moving towards a more productivity-focused strategy, with a greater focus on the output of our employees.

“We believe the future of the workforce rests in employee wellbeing. This is what has prompted us to take part in this trial. We believe it will have a meaningful and positive impact [on the company and its employees].”

“Our clients demand quality over quantity. In recognition of this, it’s fantastic to embark on an initiative that focuses us on productivity and rewards us with the time to recover and recharge, to be at our best to deliver the best,” said The OMG CEO Mqondisi Gumede.

Ivan Johnson, creative partner at 3Verse, said when the agency was founded, one of the pillars the three partners agreed upon was that family was all-important.

“We had spent our careers at multinational agencies where ‘work hard, play hard’ was the ethos. We chose to separate the two — work hard, then go home and play. Go play your sport, watch a movie, write your book, go shopping, support a local band, be creative with dinner — and don’t be creative when helping with your child’s homework,” he said.

“Good work happens because of great insight. To be insightful is to live. To live you need to have a life beyond the office. Great ideas need not take time — wandering about and giving free rein to your senses does. The four-day week allows us to indulge in the suburban cliché, ‘Live, Laugh and Love’ — fuel to work smarter, more efficiently and with more insight.” 

The South African pilot will run alongside similar trials in Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Nearly 90% of workers enjoy reduced hours and benefits in Iceland, where a similar trial revealed a reduction in worker stress and burnout.

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