Australians would benefit from a shorter working week, ACTU leaders told the Economic Reform Roundtable.
“Shorter working hours are good for both workers and employers. They deliver improved productivity and allow working people to live happier, healthier and more balanced lives,” said ACTU President Michele O’Neil.
The ACTU argued that workers deserve to benefit from productivity gains and technological advances, and that reducing working hours is key to lifting living standards.
Analysis by the Centre for Future Work shows the scale of the gap between productivity growth and wage growth. If real wages had grown at the same rate as productivity since 2000, average wages would be around 18 per cent higher – about $350 per week – than they are today.
The ACTU proposes that Australia move towards a four-day work week where appropriate and use sector-specific alternatives where it is not. Pay and conditions, including penalty rates, overtime and minimum staffing levels, would be protected to ensure a reduced work week doesn’t result in a loss of pay.
Sector-specific models for reducing working hours include adding more rostered days off, increasing annual leave, and redesigning rosters to provide increased predictability, security and work-life balance.
According to a peer-reviewed study recently published in Nature Human Behaviour, a four-day work week boosts performance, reduces burnout and improves employee health and retention.