The 40-hour working week has been the norm in Aotearoa New Zealand, ever since the first Labour government introduced it in the 1930s. Legislation in the 1940s made it universal. Almost 100 years later, not a lot has changed. In fact, according to Stats NZ about 400,000 Kiwis work more than 50 hours a week.
At the same time, there has been a big increase in the number of people off work due to sickness. According to Stats NZ, there was a 67% increase in that number in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same quarter last year.
Covid-19 is changing the way we think about how we live and work. People are working from home more often. They’re re-evaluating what they do. Above all, they’re taking a long hard look at their work-life balance.
Here at SBN we aim to foster a work environment where our people work productively and effectively, love what they do and have sufficient time outside work to switch off.
Tori Calver, our Head of Strategy and Impact, explains why we’re trialling a nine-day fortnight to help meet these aims.
“I’ve always believed it’s really important to get the right balance between the amount of time we spend at work and with friends and whānau,” she says.
“More and more studies are coming out showing it’s better for wellbeing as well as work productivity, because you get less burnout and happier people who feel better about their job. Our team tend to give their heart and soul to their work. We’ve had a lot of sickness recently, so we want to make sure they have enough time to recharge.
Here at SBN we aim to foster a work environment where our people work productively and effectively, love what they do and have sufficient time outside work to switch off.
“As a not-for-profit we can’t always compete on salary compared to corporates, but one area we can do well is culture. It’s a pretty challenging job market, so we’ve been looking at how we can ensure SBN is a great place to work. We’re hoping a nine-day fortnight will help improve health and wellbeing while keeping productivity stable.
“Completing the same amount of work in less time can pose some challenges. So at SBN we’re reviewing our processes to ensure we maintain productivity.
“We’ve implemented 90-day planning to help us stay focused, prioritise our work, and park what we can’t tackle within a certain timeframe. So rather than piling on work each week, we’re being honest about what we can achieve.
“We’re also being brutal with meetings – cutting out meetings that aren’t needed, asking people to come with clear agendas, and making sure the right people are in the room. People who aren’t needed can drop out. We’re starting to see progress on that."
She says SBN staff were super excited when they first heard about the plan.
“They’re really keen to make it work, so we’re focusing on not losing productivity and not feeling more stressed because of the reduced time. We have a pretty flat structure, which means there’s a lot of collaboration and different people involved in projects, so we’re looking at how we can continue to be inclusive while being more efficient.”
SBN staff take the same day off each fortnight – every other Friday. That means there’s no internal meetings or emails that day, and therefore less to catch up on the following Monday. We’re trialling the practice for six months initially, but so far so good!