“I’ve had lots of people suggesting we should have a four-day week. Ultimately, that really sits between employers and employees,” Ardern said.
However, the idea has merit in that it might give domestic travelers “flexibility in terms of their travel and their leave,” she added. Ardern noted that 60% of New Zealand’s tourism industry comes from locals.
“There’s lots of things we’ve learnt about Covid and just that flexibility of people working from home, the productivity that can be driven out of that,” she continued.
The prime minister encouraged employers to consider allowing more flexible work set-ups — including remote work and putting in longer hours on fewer days — if possible, “because it certainly would help tourism all around the country.”
Four-day work weeks have become more popular recently as employers explore whether a tighter schedule can boost productivity.
By working just four days a week, employees all reported higher productivity, better work-life balance and reduced stress, according to the firm, which had around 240 staffers.
The results were promising: While the amount of time spent at work was cut dramatically, productivity — measured by sales per employee — went up by almost 40% compared to the same period the previous year, the company said.
As a result, Microsoft announced that it would follow up with another experiment in Japan, and also asked other companies to join the initiative.