A trial of a four-day working week is being considered as part of the discussion during APS-wide bargaining.
The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has cautiously said it is expecting a four-day working week will come up during bargaining, per its FAQs in the latest workplace bargaining newsletter.
“We expect it to be tabled as a claim when we discuss flexible work arrangements,” the APSC said.
“As we represent all APS agencies during APS-wide bargaining, we need to consider common conditions and their impact on an agency’s operational requirements.”
CPSU secretary Melissa Donnelly told The Mandarin that flexibility is a “central issue” for employees.
“The APS has to compete with other employers who are making substantial progress in this area. Securing working-from-home rights is a key outcome employees want to see in this bargaining round,” Donnelly said.
“The four-day work week, and exploring how that may work in the APS, is another area of interest to employees. Like in other jurisdictions, a pilot or trial may be the best way to examine how the four-day work week could operate in practice.”
Four-day workweek trials have seen some positive results. Per The Conversation, global results from trials in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the US found employees have reported less stress, burnout, better home life and health, both physical and mental.
A senate report last month recommended government conduct a four-day workweek trial, as reported by The Mandarin’s sister publication SmartCompany. The recommendation was not specific to the public sector.
The model put forward in the select committee on work and care report was a 100:80:100 model, with employees being paid 100% of their salary, reducing their working hours to 80%, and maintaining 100% productivity.
The committee recommended government run a trial in partnership with a university to measure the impact of the trial on productivity, health and wellbeing, workplace cultural change and gender equality.
READ MORE:
