How Can an EOR Help You Transition to the 4-Day Week in Africa?
- Last updated: October 16, 2024
4-Day Week Global, the non-profit Organisation supporting this movement since 2018 is still conducting its trial in partnership with Cambridge, Boston College, and Oxford University. The experiment involves some 3300 workers across different companies, has the business community excited at best and holding their breath at worst. What will be its effects, will it reach the African continent, and what should businesses in Africa make of it? Let us guide you through this trend which is getting a lot of press as of late.
What is the 4-day work week?
It is a new mode of working which values quality over quantity, that is, performance over the time spent at work. Concretely, it is very different from the compressed week, which requires employees to work more hours during on-days to deliver the equivalent of a 5-day week. The 4-day week, instead, takes a full day out of the equation, while employees receive their full salary and benefits. Their salary compensates output, rather than the hours worked.
In contrast, a four-day work week means employees will work one day less in the week but the same number of hours per day as before. They will still receive their full salary and benefits. In essence, they are being paid for outputs and not for hours worked.
What are the findings, so far?
Before diving into specifics, it should be noted that 4-Day Week Global’s managing director and founder is of the opinion that so far, the results of the trial merely provide empirical data backing benefits that the organisation had been promoting all along, namely:
- Better health and quality of life, contributing to Employee Experience
In the wake of the pandemic, which left many over-worked and on the brink of burn-out, clearly showing the limitations of work-from-home (WFH), the 4-day work week seemed to reduce stress, while improving sleep quality, increasing family and work-life balance and overall satisfaction.
- Steady, if not improved, productivity contributes to the company’s performance.
Although, in essence, the 4-day work week in no way equates to a compressed work week, overall productivity remained unchanged, and, in some cases, even improved.
What of Africa?
In an article from BusinessTech.co.za, master reward specialist with the South African Reward Association (SARA), Kirk Kruger posits that, although South Africa may not be ready to adopt this functioning at a large scale, and those choosing to adopt it may be niche organisations, “Research shows a higher level of worker engagement, so there is good reason for employers to consider it as part of their employee value proposition”.
Indeed, as far as South Africa is concerned, the upcoming workforce has shifting needs that demand change and more flexibility, challenging the traditional work model. In another article, the news platform found that the traditional 9 to 5 working hours are no longer palatable to this generation of workers, according to labour experts at South African law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. From WFH incentives that nonetheless make it hard for workers to switch off, to considering the 4-day work week – which is possible, but not practical in all cases – change is afoot, although specifics are still unclear.
Why you should not be afraid of this trend
Who could have anticipated that WFH would have taken the world by storm? The transition had been slow, until the pandemic imposed it. Progressive businesses embraced it; conservative ones looked forward to being done with it as soon as business activities resumed. But all experts agree that this work mode is here to stay – with or without its flaws – and although it is only applicable to some industries.
Are we saying that another pandemic will impose the 4-day work week? We certainly do not hope so. However, the UK trial will infallibly come up with better insights, whilst identifying potential problems and suggesting ways to solve them. In either case, we believe that preparation and agility is key to navigating the ever-changing labour landscape. Single-handedly dismissing any new work mode is not necessarily wise, and neither is diving into it headfirst.
Moreover, if this trend does enter mainstream culture, it will do so backed by appropriate legislation. And it does come with a few advantages for employers:
- Motivation and morale will go up: as rest and leisure increase, so do productivity and focus.
- The annoying phenomenon of “padding hours” will hardly be possible anymore, as performance will be valued over hours.
Businesses will gain a competitive edge over competitors that do not offer such options, as work culture, which is a key pillar of employee experience, sets a business apart.
How an EOR like Africa HR Solutions helps you get ahead of this trend:
- Staying compliant
With new work modes, come new laws, and they require compliance. Whether from a Human Resource perspective through our Employer of Record solution for keeping up with labour laws, or from a Payroll perspective for keeping up with tax-law changes, our legal expertise in 46 African countries has you covered.
- Staying productive
First, by delegating us the payroll function, you free up your team and all the resources they need to focus on your core business. Secondly, by using our payroll data you can generate insightful reports that will help you understand internal trends and make better and informed decisions.
- Be competitive
By choosing a unified service provider across Africa you benefit from economies of scale to access efficient digital payroll tools, competitive benefit packages from insurance to pension, and, most of all, the talented team that will make the best use of these tools to save you precious time.