The pioneering four-day work week pilot is set to start in South Africa next month.
This radical-sounding work model aims to increase productivity and the mental health of workers.
This is according to 4 Day Week SA, the organisation spearheading the experiment. The organisation cites a report by Gallup that claims that only 24% of South African workers are engaged at work and only 29% are thriving in their overall well-being.
However, the financial director of Keegor Group SA, Michelle Austin, said such a work structure is not feasible for all sectors.
‘’In general, I think that it can work but there are definitely some limitations to it. There are some sectors that might not work very well. These might include the health-care system, the police, construction, manufacturing and mining,’’ said Austin.
She points to the manufacturing sector, where there is usually a combination of salaried and waged staff.
The concern is the question of whether it is possible for the people who are being paid hourly to produce the same amount of goods in four days instead of five.
‘’If I also give salaried staff only four days a week, how would those in the factory react to that? It almost creates inequality and a further divide. In the mining and construction industries, they often run 24/7,” said Austin.
“They could organise shifts and rotations, but there would be quite a bit of planning that would need to be done at the expense of the companies.”
Implementing a four-day work week is a business improvement strategy that focuses on working smarter rather than longer, according to 4 Day Week SA.
Austin disagrees with this and says her industry of manufacturing is incompatible with the work model.
“I am not convinced that working ‘smarter rather than harder’ would work. The four-day work week can work best in industries that are repetitive,” she said.
These, she said, could be consulting, media, retail and more. These are sectors where there is a predictable and independent type of work.
“In the sectors incompatible with this type of work model, extra people would need to be hired to replace those who are off. In general, while this could help the unemployment crisis in the country, the majority of those who are unemployed are unskilled. So, it would depend on the industry.”
Austin believes it is possible that corporations would strive for output rather than hourly pay in the future.
“There would be a lot of planning that would need to take place behind the scenes to avoid worsening inequality. If companies plan that properly, it could have a massive positive impact on the population at large.”
IOL Business