Ngā Taonga staff will work four-day week for same pay

Staff at the government-funded audiovisual archive Ngā Taonga will get Fridays off without facing a pay cut.

The national archive is the first publicly funded organisation to adopt the four-day work week without changing pay, according to Public Service Association national secretary Kerry Davies.

She hoped it was the start of a change in the public service. ‘‘We’ve had the fiveday week for such a long time, it seems old-fashioned.’’

From next month all Ngā Taonga staff can work 32.5 hours per week without a reduction in pay, chief executive Honiana Love said. Staff will be able to choose from three working patterns. They can work four days with Fridays off, work normal weeks with reduced hours, or work reduced hours with alternate Fridays off. ‘‘This new way of working embodies our values as an organisation to help improve wellbeing and cultivate a sense of belonging,’’ Love said.

4 Day Week campaigner Charlotte Lockhart believes the tide has turned towards the four-day week in New Zealand. Last year she encouraged the public service to move towards flexible working and said it was disappointing to see the Government not taking up the idea.

Lockhart said the benefits were proven – workers were more productive, got more sleep, enjoyed being at work more and got behind initiatives aimed at increasing productivity per hour.

Now she is thrilled to see it happening at Ngā Taonga. ‘‘It is huge internationally,’’ Lockhart said.

The four-day week was trialled at Ngā Taonga from June last year, along with professional training to boost productivity. The trial saw a 30% increase in staff wellbeing, in a post-lockdown environment where staff were struggling.

The PSA and employees were ‘‘actively engaged’’ in the trial and their feedback was taken on board by Ngā Taonga’s leadership when deciding how to roll out the four-day week, said Davies.

‘‘Good on Ngā Taonga for doing the mahi on this, and taking the lead in the public sector and moving with the times.

‘‘Up until now the private sector has been taking the lead on this.’’

Results from the trial showed staff were able to meet their usual workload even with the reduced hours.

‘‘In a tightening labour market, having a point of difference is key,’’ Love said. ‘‘Adopting this unique, peoplecentric way of working not only reflects our values and fosters wellbeing at a foundational level but we hope it will help us attract and retain staff.’’

National Party MP and public service spokesperson Simeon Brown said Ngā Taonga, which is independent but government-funded, could organise its workforce how it chose. But he was opposed to any broader roll-out ‘‘which could lead to bloating in the core public service’’. ‘‘There is a real need to ensure increased productivity ... people are paid to perform their jobs.’’

Working shorter hours but getting paid the same was ‘‘not how it works in the private sector’’ and would create a need for more people to do the same amount of work, he said.

Flexible workplace consultant Gillian Brookes said there was a false perception that long hours meant productivity.

‘‘We need to let go of our hard-wired positive correlation between hours worked and productivity achieved. It is not based in reality.’’ More of the public service switching to a four-day week would see a rise in productivity, a drop in stress levels, less burnout, and it would be easier to attract and retain staff – ‘‘without a single additional dollar in pay cheques’’, Brookes said.

‘‘We need to let go of our hard-wired positive correlation between hours worked and productivity achieved.’’ Gillian Brookes Flexible workplace consultant