Aussie four-day work week could be 'accelerated' amid growing trend: '200 hours a year'

Yahoo

13 hours ago

Australians in many industries could soon be working one day less each week thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). Large language models (LLMs) and other AI platforms are used every day by millions of workers across the country, and they can lead to a huge boost in productivity.
However, questions are being raised about whether it could 'accelerate' the four-day work week trend that's been gathering pace over the last few years. Matt Tindale, managing director at LinkedIn Australia and New Zealand, told Yahoo Finance AI was changing so many ways that we work.
'It's reshaping how we think about work itself," he said.
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"We're likely to see continued growth in entrepreneurship, emerging small businesses and flexible careers that reflect a more fluid, empowered workforce.
'The widespread accessibility of knowledge through AI is transforming how talent drives economic growth."
LinkedIn found four in five Aussies supported a four-day work week, and Tindale said AI was helping workers and employers look at their output as 'outcomes delivered' rather than a certain number of hours worked.Thomson Reuters' Future of Professionals Report found AI tools could save some professionals up to 200 hours a year.
Fundraising platform Raisely jumped on the trend in 2022, and chief customer officer Jordan Maitland told Yahoo Finance it's been made much easier by adopting the latest technology.
'Life is busy, and with AI we're able to get so much more done, which is almost at the expense of your people and you're almost getting too much done in five days that people are easily burning out,' she said.
'With all the technology and better ways of working, reward your people for that and let them have that day off and come back more energised.
'Otherwise, if we're working at this pace, five days a week, you're going to have continuous burnout and continuous turnover.'
Swinburne University of Technology Associate Professor John Hopkins has been closely studying this new work trend and told Yahoo Finance there was no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to the four-day work week.
He explained every business would have to sort out which departments and staff would benefit from it the most and which would be most adaptable to working one day less per week.
Hopkins admitted new tech like LLMs could help usher in that change.
"AI does save time, so it has the potential to take hours out of a working week and support a shorter working week for employees," he said.
"It'll address particularly repetitive tasks and things that would normally take a lot longer, and complete those pretty well and fairly accurately."
But he wasn't fully convinced of a purely AI-led charge helping companies realise their four-day work week potential.
"It's a huge question," he mused.
"We don't fully understand the potential of AI yet. I don't think anybody does. It's still relatively early days. I think some companies are doing some quite exciting work with it, but I think the big impact is still to come."
His hesitation lies in how other technological advancements like the internet and computers affected workers' output.
These helped produce far more productivity for millions of people across Australia, however, they didn't lead to a shorter working week.
'We're, in fact, working longer hours now than we did 100 years ago when the five-day week was introduced because the technologies that we have in our pockets means that we finish at five o'clock and you're already working before 9am and we're working at weekends and evenings or holidays,' he said.
Hopkins added that employers could just as easily keep the current setup and squeeze even more productivity and outcomes from workers.
Those who are testing the new trend have seen some incredible results so far.
Medibank has noticed it has helped cut down on unnecessary meetings and workloads as staff felt more committed to getting everything done in the new timeframe.
Staff reported being 4.5 per cent more satisfied with their job and 6.7 per cent were more engaged with their day-to-day tasks.
The shortened week also helped these employees be more willing to go "above and beyond" their normal duties.
Overall health improved by 16 per cent, work-life balance and sleep jumped 30 per cent each, and unhealthy eating plunged 17.5 per cent.
For Maitland's company, their trial found there was not a single drop in productivity.
It actually went the other way, with a 10.1 per cent improvement. Staff also reported their work-life balance improved by nearly 18 per cent, along with increased energy levels.
In a LinkedIn survey of 2,000 Aussie professionals, an overwhelming 77 per cent supported moving to a shorter week, and 82 per cent of HR staffers in a separate study said the same.
It could be 20 per cent fewer hours per week with the same pay, or even a reduced salary. Others have suggested 10-hour work days, instead of the usual eight, to ensure the same amount of weekly work gets done, just with one day less.
Recent research also found nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of AI users in Australia utilise it for work.
They're using it to help with writing (75 per cent), brainstorming (69 per cent), problem-solving (70 per cent), and to digest or simplify lengthy documents (68 per cent) or complex information (60 per cent).
Hopkins told Yahoo Finance the key to ushering in a four-day work week was really analysing whether you can cut down on certain tasks that eat up your time.
Some of the companies he has interviewed said they trialled the trend to address productivity issues, others did it to keep and attract the best talent.
Whatever it was, they all had a reason to do it. But Hopkins admitted it's not a simple task to bring it in.
'Moving to a four-day week takes preparation. It takes a pilot. There has to be a transition to it, and training and everything else,' he said.
'There may be a trimming of work, or becoming more lean in terms of things that you do, maybe reducing the number of meetings.'
But he also believed that, with enough time, it would become a reality for millions.