Ngā Taonga’s staff work four days a week, but are paid the same

Employees of the government-funded audiovisual archive Ngā Taonga will get Friday off without a pay cut.

The National Archives is the first government-funded organization to create the four-day work week without changing wages National Secretary of the Association of Public Services Kerry Davies.

She hoped this was the beginning of a change in public service. “We have had the five-day working week for so long, it seems old-fashioned. I hope this marks the start of a major change across New Zealand.”

From February, all Ngā Taonga employees will be allowed to work 32.5 hours a week without a pay cut, CEO Honiana Love said in a statement.

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In the new scheme, employees can choose from three work patterns. They can choose to work four days with Fridays off, work normal weeks with reduced hours or work reduced hours with alternating Fridays off.

“This new way of working embodies our values ​​as an organization to help improve well-being and cultivate a sense of belonging,” said Love.

4 Day Week campaigner Charlotte Lockhart believes the tide has turned towards the four-day work week in New Zealand. “Now is the time,” she said.

Midway through last year, she encouraged the public service to evolve towards flexible working and said it was disappointing to see the government not adopting the idea.

Lockhart said the benefits are proven: Employees are more productive, get more sleep, enjoy work more and support initiatives aimed at increasing hourly productivity.

Now she is very happy to see it happen in Ngā Taonga. “It’s huge internationally and HR teams get asked all the time if they can provide benefits like that.”

The four-day work week was trialled in Ngā Taonga from June 2022 along with professional training to increase productivity. The trial saw a 30% increase in staff well-being, in a post-lockdown environment where staff was struggling.

The PSA and workers were “actively involved” in the trial and their feedback was taken into account by Ngā Taonga’s leadership when deciding how to roll out the four-day workweek, Davies said.

‘Good for Ngā Taonga to do the mahi in this and take the lead in the public sector and keep up with the times. Until now, the private sector has taken the lead in this.”

The results of the test showed that the staff could meet their usual workload even with the reduced hours.

“In a tightening job market, it’s essential to have a point of difference,” Love said.

“Applying this unique, people-centric way of working not only reflects our values ​​and promotes wellbeing at a fundamental level, but we hope it will help us attract and retain employees.”

Others were not so positive. National public service spokesmansaid Simeon Brown that Ngā Taonga, which is independent but funded by the government, can organize its workforce as it sees fit.

But he opposed any wider rollout that could lead to a bloat in the central public service. “There is a real need to increase productivity… people are paid to do their jobs.”

Working shorter hours but getting paid the same was “not how it works in the private sector,” and would result in more people having to do the same amount of work, he said.

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

“We need to let go of our entrenched positive correlation between hours worked and productivity achieved. It is not based on reality, only on our thoughts.”

A greater share of the public service moving to a four-day work week would lead to an increase in productivity, a decrease in stress levels, less burnout, and it would be easier to attract and retain staff – “without a single extra dollar in paychecks,” Brookes said.

But there was an elephant in the room, she warned. If the public service switched to a four-day work week, but the rest of New Zealand’s businesses were left behind, it could create a “them and us” culture.

“This could be really divisive and create new problems for our country… What I would like to see is the public service taking the lead and very publicly moving to the four-day workweek, while encouraging the rest of New Zealand to to follow. business suit.”