4-Day Work Week Pilot Project to be Rolled Out on 1 March 2023

A total of 28 South African businesses have confirmed their state of readiness and preparedness to participate in the four-day workweek pilot project scheduled to kick off on 1 March 2023.

The 4-day work week pilot program is unprecedented in South Africa, the project being the first of its kind ever to be conducted in the country. Approximately 500 South African employers and employees will, for a period of six months, evaluate the pros and cons of reducing their businesses’ ‘normal’ 5-day working week to a 4-day working week.

The 4-day work week proposal is based on the 100-80-100 model, developed by co-founders of 4 Day Week Global, Andrew Barnes and Charlotte Lockhart.

The model prescribes 100% of the pay for 80% of the time in exchange for a commitment to delivering 100% of the output.

Some of the South African businesses participating in the first ever 4-day work week pilot project include:

• jt&a – QCTO Accreditation Advisory Services;

• Dream Team Catalyst – events and consulting company;

• Tax Maverick and The Tax Ladies – providing tax and finance services;

• Communicare – specialists in social housing and property development;

• Elnatan IT Solutions – an IT sales and support company;

• Marais Software Solutions – an IT software development company;

• 2Stories – marketing agency;

• APSO – employment services company; and

• Maties Gymnasium – Stellenbosch University’s fitness gymnasium.

It would be true to say that none of the aforementioned businesses would lay claim to being regarded as large, multi-national conglomerates, or even medium-sized business for that matter. Most, if not all, would fall into the category of so-called ‘niche organisations’, for example, small to medium-sized IT, financial services, and management consultancy businesses.

Notwithstanding this, Karen Lowe, the South African Director of 4 Day Week had this to say about the upcoming pilot project, “To have 28 companies joining South Africa’s first-ever pilot of the four-day week is a testament to the forward-thinking of business in this country. Pilot participants are embracing the idea that it’s time to change the nearly 100-year-old convention of a five-day week.”

“Reduced work hours are a central tenet to the future of work, and there is potentially so much to be gained and nothing to lose from the experiment,” added Lowe.

Most companies participating in the pilot project identified employee well-being as being one of their top priorities for 2023, and the promise of fostering a culture of productivity, simultaneously, made it an attractive proposition.

“Everyone will win. A happy team creates great work, and great work leads to happy clients,” said 2Stories chief content officer Anelde Greeff.

“To enhance our employee value proposition, we believe that implementing the four-day work week could have a further positive impact on mental wellness as it will provide our people with some valuable extra time to spend with their loved ones and ultimately contribute to a more positive experience for our customer,” said Communicare COO Makhosi Kubheka.

However, Abigail Butcher, an associate in the Employment Law practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, noted that feedback around the (proposed) change has been mixed.

“While the idea of a four-day work week appears to increase the morale of employees, the fact that their productivity must remain despite fewer hours could result in burnout and increased stress,” she cautioned.

Lowe concluded, however, that research findings from recently conducted global trials continued to make a clear case for the implementation of a four-day work week.

Recruitment is apparently already underway for South Africa’s second four-day week pilot, due to kick off in May 2023. Organisations wanting to be part of the subsequent trial can sign up by logging on to www.4dayweek.co.za.

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