From perk to performance strategy: The 4-day work week

By Johanna Leggatt

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way many finance leaders work. It accelerated the uptake of flexible office arrangements, including the 4-day work week, in Australia.

While the notion of a reduced working week predates 2019, the pandemic era made it more acceptable for companies to test its real-world application, according to co-CEO of 4 Day Week Global, Debbie Bailey.

“[The COVID-19 pandemic] was that watershed moment where we proved that we could work differently while maintaining reasonable levels of productivity,” says Bailey, who works with organisations to improve productivity and support companies trialling reduced work models.

The 100:80:100 approach is the most common model of the 4-day work week: 100 per cent pay, 80 per cent of the time, for 100 per cent output. However, variations include five six-hour days, nine-day fortnights or half days on Friday.

“The concept of the 4-day work week is maturing beyond a clickbait term,” she says.

“It refers to any form of reduced hours worked and there are so many variations depending on what works for the business.”

What the evidence says about the 4-day work week

Six years on from the onset of the pandemic, numerous studies report high retention and happier workers among companies adopting the model.

A peer-reviewed 2025 study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, that analysed pre- and post-trial data on the 4-day work week shows “improvements in burnout, job satisfaction, mental health and physical health”. 

 

"This flexibility operates as a ‘gift of time’ and is earned when teams have eliminated low value work and achieve what they need to for our customers and patients."

 

The study, based on 2896 employees across 141 organisations in Australia, the US, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK states that “three key factors mediate the [outcomes]: improved self-reported work ability, reduced sleep problems and decreased fatigue”.

A UK pilot program conducted with 4 Day Week Global resulted in a 71 per cent decrease in employee burnout. These improvements were also accompanied by financial benefits. Research from the trial found revenue increases of up to 35 per cent during a six-month period, while Microsoft Japan reported a productivity boost of 40 per cent during a 4-day work week trial.

Examples from the front line

In Australia, Medibank launched its own 100:80:100 model with 250 employees in November 2023. Based on positive results “in engagement, wellbeing and performance”, it expanded the trial to include another 300 employees.

“This flexibility operates as a ‘gift of time’ and is earned when teams have eliminated low value work and achieved what they need to for our customers and patients,” says Kylie Bishop, Medibank group lead, people, spaces and sustainability. 

Results so far from the Medibank trials have shown that performance outcomes remain stable, while frontline unplanned absence has reduced by one-third. Sleep improved by almost 30 per cent, overall health increased by 16.3 per cent and work–life balance improved by 31.4 per cent.

Bishop says these results emerged from “shifting long established habits and staying disciplined about it”.

 

"It is not about designing a program for employee wellbeing: that is a happy outcome that happens as a result of changing the way you work."

 

“Rethinking meetings has been a big one for us. Previously, our instinct was to bring lots of people together whenever a problem or opportunity arose,” Bishop says. “Now, we’re much more intentional, asking whether a meeting is actually needed, what it is for and who truly needs to be there.”

This aligns with Bailey’s view that a 4-day work week is ultimately about improving company efficiency.

“It is not about designing a program for employee wellbeing: that is a happy outcome that happens as a result of changing the way you work,” Bailey says. She adds that while the 4-day work week was once the sole preserve of knowledge workers, manufacturing companies and shift workers are also trialling the model.

Bailey’s team recently worked with a police department in the US city of Golden, Colorado, to introduce a 4-day work week. Overtime costs dropped by nearly 80 per cent, Bailey notes, and resignations halved.

Based in Queensland, Australia, Wayne Bemet launched National Service Financial — a small financial advisory firm for veterans — on a 4-day model from the outset. Bemet spent 20 years in the military, including five overseas operations, and sought a greater work–life balance when he built his business.

“I liked the idea of a Monday to Thursday, particularly after 20 years of service and being away for so many months at a time,” he says. “I wanted to find that balance after service but still be effective and build my business.”

Bemet does not equate productivity with being onsite for fixed hours. He says the military taught him that performance matters more than appearances — and work is not measured by “just sitting around the office”.

“We used to call that ‘window dressing’, and there is no need to do that.” His employees also work a 4-day week, noting that in the last eight years, he has only lost two employees.

Rather than hinder his growth, Bemet believes the 4-day work week has helped it. “We’re a small but high output team,” he says.

“We have helped more than 2000 veterans and business is up 35 per cent year on year, with growth compounding every year.”

If at first you don’t succeed … redesign

Of course, not all trials are success stories. 

Bailey points out that trials must include proper planning and streamlining of processes to succeed.

“Often, [businesses] turn the tap on too quickly without doing the design work first,” she says. “You cannot do a 4-day work week or reduced hours if you do not do business process improvement first.”

Even if a company decides to discontinue the trial, the redesign process can be hugely valuable, she argues.

“We have organisations that go through the design process and do not proceed to trial, but they use that process to improve their productivity, workflows and efficiencies,” Bailey says.

“Going through the process gives you that lens — it is going to shine the light on any gaps in your organisation and give you the opportunity to address those and be even better.”