This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE results are in from the world’s biggest study of a four-day working week, showing business revenues increased and employees reported improvements in mental and physical health – which could signal further troubles for CBDs battling with already-low worker occupancy numbers each day.
A study run by researchers from the University of Cambridge, Boston College, future of work research organisation Autonomy and the 4-Day Week Global non-profit community analysed 61 companies and their employees in the United Kingdom that committed to four-day-weeks from June to December.
It found business revenue lifted 1.4%, weighted for the size of the business, despite the fewer hours worked.
Of the 2,900 employees 48% were more satisfied with their job, 39% were less stressed and 71% less burned out; that amounted to 60% saying it was easier to balance work and responsibilities at home, and 73% reporting increased satisfaction with their lives.
Nearly all – 92% – of the companies will continue with the four-day workweek, and 30% have made it a permanent change.
Achievers Workforce Institute’s 2023 Engagement and Retention Report showed 27% of Australian companies were considering a four-day week.
A four-day working week would potentially undo much of the effort office tower owners and businesses have put in trying to entice workers back to the workplace, as well as the efforts of governments and businesses to drive a return to the CBDs.
It is already widely accepted that the five-day working week no longer means five days of coming into the office. Only 4% of organisations require employees to work in the office for all five days of the working week. According to the Property Council’s most recent office occupancy figures, workplace attendance at the end of January was down seasonally but at just 28% of the pre-COVID rate in Melbourne, which has lagged other CBDs following extended lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, while it fell to 49% in Sydney and 28% in Canberra.
Brisbane fell to 53%, Adelaide to 67% and Perth to 69%.
Optimistic scenarios for workers returning to the office in a study by PAR Group suggest that nearly $1.6 billion in CBD spending would be lost each year due to the lower numbers of people coming into the workplace.
CBDs are also having to contend with the growing embrace of flexible workspaces, many of which are established in suburban locations, closer to the homes of workers. An overwhelming number of workers want to work in a flexible workspace near their homes – at least as much as in their primary offices.
