Blessing Utete 00:03
Welcome to the second season of Big Business Insights, the Old Mutual Corporate podcast where we discuss issues that concern senior decision makers, particularly human capital managers, in large enterprises. Each episode focuses on one topic that is top of mind for today’s business leaders, aiming to provide you with key insights to improve your employees’ work experience and financial wellness, and make your business fit for the future as you navigate towards it.
I’m Blessing Utete and today’s topic is about the modern world of work. It might not seem that way, but the five-day workweek is not as old as you may think. France only adopted it in 1940. And in Germany, it was formalised as recently as the 1950s. Yet the four-day workweek is already a buzzword, and several large corporates are experimenting with it. Today we’re having a conversation with Lindiwe Sebesho, MD designate at Remchannel, who conducted a survey to find out how the idea is developing in South Africa. This is an important trend to keep track of if you’re looking to find or keep top talent in your business. Welcome Lindiwe.
Lindiwe Sebesho 01:08
Thank you very much.
Blessing Utete 01:10
Now to get into it, would you just give us some context in terms of what is the four-day workweek? What is this all about?
Lindiwe Sebesho 01:17
Yeah, so the four day workweek is another work model that’s emerged. As you rightfully said, we typically work 40 hours a week, which is the five day workweek. So the four day workweek basically reduces that to four days, meaning that it will be 32 hours in a week. It’s important to note that the four day workweek aims to improve employee engagement and wellbeing by reducing the hours that people spend at work. But most importantly, it also aims to improve productivity. Because the more well people are, the more they’re able to integrate life and work, the more they’re able to then focus when they’re actually at work. And hence, the productivity improvement.
There’s different ways that organisations are looking at achieving that 32 hours. So it’s not a Friday off, or a Monday for that matter. In fact, I’ve just read about an organisation that’s giving its employees two half days in the week to make that 32 hours. So there are creative ways that organisations can achieve the four-day workweek, so long as it works for them and still drives productivity, which is the ultimate objective.
Blessing Utete 02:29
Interesting. So it’s not just a Friday off, actually it can work any which way that suits the organisation. Maybe just into your survey that you did. Tell us more about the survey and what actually you were looking for? What were you assessing in the survey?
Lindiwe Sebesho 02:45
As you know, Remchannel does a lot of surveys. And this was one of the surveys that we did in April, soon after the pilot of the four-day workweek launched in South Africa, I think it launched in March of this year. It’s a six month pilot. So the intent of the survey was really to understand what organisations were thinking about in terms of the four-day workweek and the pilot. So the outcomes of the survey were quite interesting, in that 90% of respondents actually believed that the four-day workweek will improve the work life balance of employees.
Blessing Utete 03:23
How many respondents did you get who responded to the survey?
Lindiwe Sebesho 03:28
We had quite a good sample. We have a lot of corporates that are members or that subscribe to our survey platform. So we had 67 participants respond to this particular survey, so that 90% talks to that 67. In addition to that 90% that believed employee work-life balance will improve with a four-day workweek, there were 61% of participants that also believed that employee performance would improve, linking to that productivity objective that I mentioned earlier. And then 72%, to the point that you made about talent attraction and retention, also believed that it would increase talent retention.
Blessing Utete 04:18
That’s some interesting statistics coming out of there. Because I mean, as you say, talent is key. And also the fact that it’s actually significantly improving productivity. What are the other insights that came out of the survey that that you think we would need to have a look at here?
Lindiwe Sebesho 04:35
Well, as to whether it’s actually improving productivity or not, I’m sure we will still hear from the pilot study that’s currently under way, or it should actually have finished by August because it was a six month pilot. So we are looking to hear what the results are in terms of the objectives of the three day or sorry, four day workweek, those three objectives that I mentioned earlier. So the other insight that is coming through quite clearly is that 76% of the participants actually believe that employees would not take a pay cut in order to work four days. And that’s interesting. But it’s also not a concern, because as I said, the focus of the four-day workweek is productivity. So the pay formula would be you get the salary of a five-day workweek, in a reduced time, at four days, so long as the productivity remains at the same level as you were working five days. So that’s a key takeaway, because it’s not about reducing costs, for instance, or is it about getting less output? It’s actually about finding ways of increasing productivity, or at least maintaining it for the same amount of pay that employees who work a four-day workweek would expect to be paid if they worked a five-day workweek.
Blessing Utete 05:59
I can’t imagine, no, no employees would want to take a pay cut, not at all, they also would not want to take work home for that fifth day, either.
Lindiwe Sebesho 06:07
Absolutely. And you do want to make sure that people have lots more time to improve well-being, work life integration, and so on.
Blessing Utete 06:31
So, how much buy-in is there amongst South African corporates? Is there a belief that this is largely positive and can generate the objectives that you mentioned?
Lindiwe Sebesho 06:42
It seems so, Blessing, because as we said earlier, there is the pilot in South Africa that started in March, I think it’s a six month pilot. So it will be interesting to see the results of that pilot. But from our surveys, when we looked at organisations that would want to participate in that pilot, we found that there was still a bit of hesitancy in the South African context. 46% of the respondents actually said they were not sure.
So ,there was a lot of unsure, maybe, and so on, I think everybody’s still wanting to see how this will pan out. 28% though, said yes, they would participate in the pilot, and 3% of that 28% were already part of the pilot study, which means there is definitely appetite. And this is because all organisations are looking at employee centric ways of enhancing their value proposition. And then the 20 to 26% balance said, No, they wouldn’t participate.
Lindiwe Sebesho 07:48
So, what we find is also based on those responses, for instance, is that organisations need to think about the reasons why they would want to participate in a four-day workweek. So you need to think about the challenges that you are facing from a value proposition perspective, and whether a four-day workweek would address those challenges or not.
You also have to think about the products and services that you offer to your clients, would they be able to be delivered within the context of a four-day workweek? So there’s various considerations, and therefore this is not something that would work for all organisations. Each organisation needs to take its context into consideration before adopting a four-day workweek.
Blessing Utete 08:30
And are there then trends that companies can consider as part of the EVP to, for example, make it a talent magnet in terms of the war for talent?
Lindiwe Sebesho 08:40
Absolutely, Blessing. So, one of the surveys that we also conduct every second year at Remchannel is the Employee Benefits survey, which looks at broader types of benefits that organisations offer. So the last survey that we did was in 2021, we’re actually in flight now with the next survey, which will be published in December 2023. So it results in an Employee Benefits Guide that organisations can use to consider the various elements that they can offer to enhance their value proposition. In the 2021 survey, there were interesting insights that came about mostly from the pandemic.
Blessing Utete 09:21
You would have probably seen quite a few things coming out of it. Well, what did you pick out of that one?
Lindiwe Sebesho 09:28
That’s a very important question Blessing and it actually highlights the fact that the four-day workweek is part of a plethora of benefits that organisations can offer to make their value proposition attractive. But our 2021 survey, which obviously resulted in the Employee Guide to benefits, indicated quite a number of things broader than just a four-day workweek that employers can look to do to enhance their value proposition, especially post-COVID. There’s been so many employee centric ways of making sure that organisations enhance their value proposition and are able to attract, engage and retain talent for that matter. So there’s a few trends that’s coming up, that are already reflected in our 2021 Employee Benefits Guide. One of them is home office support. As you know, we all worked at home or remotely during COVID. A lot of organisations have since adopted hybrid work models. In other words, they’re not back full time in the office. And therefore your home office is actually now recognised as a place of work. And organisations are therefore providing support to their employees to make sure that they set up their home offices in the right way to address that employee wellness, well-being if you would, for instance, you know, be set up to sit in an office. The other trend that’s coming through is staggered work hours. And this is really about reducing the frustration that employees can experience if everybody’s driving to the office at the same time, particularly for those organisations that have returned to the worksite, or to the office, they are looking at staggering those hours to reduce the traffic congestion, and therefore the frustration that comes with that. Another one that came through was variable hours, which also talks to the flexibility around encompassing the whole being of an employee’s life, including outside of work. And that’s really to help with picking up school children, and so on during the work day. The last one, which we’ve seen in quite a number of organisations, especially starting during the COVID time, was reducing the number of meetings. So organisations have set aside, you know, meeting free days, where there is no internal meetings, to again, help employees from a wellbeing perspective, and ensure that people are not always in meetings, but they also have time to get the work done.
Blessing Utete 12:15
I mean, that these are quite interesting points coming out of the survey. I mean, overall, in terms of just work-life balance, what’s your sense of have these things really landed for companies? And you know, from your knowledge in the reward space? What’s your view?
Lindiwe Sebesho 12:31
There’s a general positiveness about it, I think it has enhanced the traditional ways in which we used to work. So there’s aspects of these things that are definitely working. But like we said earlier, it’s not something that’s a one size fits all. So organisations definitely have to consider of all the different things that they can do, which one would best meet their needs. And that’s a very important consideration. Because even within an organisation, the type of work that’s being done by different people needs to be taken into consideration. There are jobs that are front facing, in other words they’re client facing, and depending on what products and services that organisation offers, those jobs may not be conducive to a four-day workweek, if those people need to be available all the time to serve clients.
Blessing Utete 13:22
Yeah. Very interesting take-outs from that survey. Now as we come to a conclusion, I think we’ve covered the four-day workweek as part of the employee value proposition. But just in terms of that, you know, how do you think that organisations can combine these modes of thinking around the four-day workweek with the benefits sky that you’ve related just now. How can employers look at these really, significantly change the EVPs?
Lindiwe Sebesho 13:50
Absolutely. And you’re right, it’s about the context of the organisation, what in their employee value proposition are they trying to enhance? What are the challenges that they need to address, and therefore look at broader elements of remuneration and benefits in order to make sure that the value proposition they ultimately have is one that is conducive to talent, but also enables them to really be productive, and drive the right performance for all their stakeholders.
So, it’s not a one size fits all, as we’ve said already, it needs to be contextual, in terms of the things that the organisation wants to achieve. In terms of the four-day workweek itself, it must achieve reduced time, but improve employee wellbeing, as well as productivity within that reduced time frame. So it’s really one of many elements that make up a meaningful value proposition to employees. Key too is the fact that organisations need to have the flexibility to customize a code into employee needs. As part of managing your people, you need to understand what makes them tick, what are the things that they would like the employment environment to create for them in order for them to be most productive.
And these are the things that we do as Remchannel – we really help organisations through our various insights, that we have structure, employee value propositions, both from a remuneration as well as a benefits perspective, that talk to what it is that they want to drive, from the employment relationship to the benefit of the employee as well as the organisation and ultimately, to make sure that the business strategy is achieved.
Blessing Utete 15:46
Very interestingly, I must say, I also have looked at this at this guide and found it very rich in terms of information around what employers are thinking and doing in terms of benefits, particularly not even just on the traditional retirement benefits. But they also are good insights around even leave I saw.
Lindiwe Sebesho 16:03
Yes, yes, there’s all sorts of leave coming out. Now. I think there are a few organisations that actually took centre stage by offering unlimited leave, again, to encourage employees to take time off and be with, you know, their families or do the things that they do when they are not at work. There is also other types of leaves that are emerging. Some organisations even have pet bereavement leave, can you believe that? And again, it’s contextual, you need to look at what your employees are looking for. And hence the discussion we had earlier around, understand your people, talk to them, offer a value proposition that’s responsive to their needs.
Blessing Utete 16:52
And so just in conclusion then, Lindiwe, what are the key takeouts that you think employers need to think about when they think about this concept of employee value proposition? This Benefits Guide you’ve mentioned and then now we’ve just been talking about the four-day workweek.
Lindiwe Sebesho 17:07
Context is very important. What organisation are you in? What business are you in? What do you offer to your clients, and how can that best be offered? The employee value proposition needs to be again contextualized, as we’ve just said. Be clear what it is that you are trying to address in terms of offering any of these elements, because not all of them can work in the same way. So it isn’t a one size fits all, it must address the challenges, and the opportunity that you see can enhance your value proposition, it must improve employee engagement, productivity, as we said earlier, as the key focus of all these work models.
And it must ultimately enable you to engage your employees and also offer a meaningful value proposition to them. And as we said, it’s just one way. The four-day workweek is one of many elements that organisations need to look at. And this is why at Remchannel and Old Mutual Corporate Consultants, we’ve got the data insights that can help organisations navigate this plethora of things that are coming up in order for them to make sure that they are adopting the right practices that are suitable to addressing the challenges that they may have in their business, or not only challenges, but the opportunities to further enhance their value propositions. So, that’s what we are here for. Both Remchannel and Old Mutual Corporate Consultants have the deep expertise required to make that happen for our clients.
Blessing Utete 18:50
Very insightful. Thank you very much indeed.
Lindiwe Sebesho 18:52
Thank you, Blessing, and this has been quite an insightful conversation, so really appreciate it.
Blessing Utete 19:00
Thank you for listening to this episode of Big Business Insights. I hope this helps you do big business better. Follow the Old Mutual Big Business Insights podcast and toggle on notifications to get an alert when a new episode is live.
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