Fascinated to read today that the Unilever business in New Zealand is to give its staff the opportunity to work a four-day week with no loss of pay. The Covid pandemic, which has led many staff to work from home, was the catalyst for this trial. Mental and physical well-being of employees plays a part in the decision, which aims to measure performance on output, not time. The scheme will run throughout 2021 and be monitored by researchers in the Business School at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Interestingly, William Lever (1851-1925), one of the founders of Unilever, foreshadowed today’s ideas of maintaining a work-life balance. He advocated a six-hour working day, referring to the deadening effect of general factory life and its monotonous round of toil, both in a book he published on the topic and in his role as an MP. He believed in the welfare of his employees, female as well as male, because a healthy worker was an industrious worker, and a six-hour working day gave time to study, leading to an overall improvement in education, and to pursue wholesome pastimes such as gardening.
Interestingly, William Lever (1851-1925), one of the founders of Unilever, foreshadowed today’s ideas of maintaining a work-life balance. He advocated a six-hour working day, referring to the deadening effect of general factory life and its monotonous round of toil, both in a book he published on the topic and in his role as an MP. He believed in the welfare of his employees, female as well as male, because a healthy worker was an industrious worker, and a six-hour working day gave time to study, leading to an overall improvement in education, and to pursue wholesome pastimes such as gardening.
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