At first glance, reducing the standard work week from five to four days may seem like a good choice with broad public support, but submissions to an inquiry on the topic in the ACT Legislative Assembly have suggested potential downsides for the national capital.
When calling for submissions to the inquiry, the Standing Committee on Economy and Gender Economic Equality (EGEE) said one of the main reasons the four-day working week was being considered for the ACT was the claim it could lead to increased happiness and productivity for staff.
"It has been reported that reduced working hours, such as in the form of a four-day working week, can result in 'happier and more committed employees'," the committee said in a discussion paper released alongside its call for submissions.
The committee also noted the four-day working week shifted the focus of companies and managers, from time spent by employees to the outcomes they had achieved.
"The reduced working week model places an emphasis on outcomes and the amount of work a worker has achieved, rather than how long a worker spends at work or producing deliverables," it said.
And the inquiry has the support of the ACT government, which, in its own submission, expressed interest in examining the introduction of a four-day working week for territory public servants.
The ACT government's submission to the inquiry drew on the reported experiences of ACT Public Service (ACTPS) workers, and suggested that the change could reduce work-induced stress.
"A four-day working week gives time back to people, which can reduce work-induced stress and related consequences, potentially impacting the societal rising cases of anxiety and depression, loss of sleep, poor dietary and exercise habits as well as child health, wellbeing, and behaviour," the ACT government's submission claimed.
While noting that a four-day working week would come at a cost and be difficult to implement, the government also speculated that it could be a major drawcard for employees.
"It would also be an attractive proposition for high-quality talent, including for many professional streams in the ACTPS, which are projected to be in high demand in the years to come, such as nurses, ICT, and teachers," the government said.
The government also compared it to recent changes made to allow staff to work from home, noting that workers were able to complete their roles in a "usual manner".
"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of supporting workers to work safely and as flexibly as possible to ensure work and productivity continues while public servants serve the community during critical times," it said.
Reducing child care costs, increasing gender equality
One submission to the inquiry by University of Sydney student and soon-to-be mother Justina Remedi suggested a more gender-balanced full-time workforce could benefit from a four-day working week.
She also noted if parents working full time were each working four days a week, it could reduce the cost of child care not just on them, but on the government's childcare subsidy.
"Although a reduction in work hours may not impact the amount of time women spend on unpaid work, by increasing the amount of time spent by men, a higher salary for women as a result of increased uptake of full-time work could make child care more affordable," her submission said.
"As there is a preference in Australia for market-oriented approaches to providing social services such as child care, increasing women's income is a reasonable alternative to increasing government funding for child care in achieving greater workforce participation by women."
Ms Remedi also emphasised the importance of implementing the model to all industries in the ACT, not just public servants, to ensure equality.
"However, this change should be implemented using legislation to ensure that reduced work-hours impact all industries, sectors and genders so that these outcomes can be achieved."
More harm than good for Canberra's insecure workers
But not all submissions to the inquiry forecasted a sunny result to the proposed change, with others concerned for Canberra's population of insecure workers.
Associate Professor in the School of Law at the University of Canberra Bruce Baer Arnold's submission to the inquiry made particular note of the risk to staff on fixed-term contracts, casual workers and gig economy workers.
Dr Arnold noted that often people in insecure employment were expected to complete work out of hours to prove themselves worthy of continued employment, an issue reducing the working week to four days would exacerbate.
"Although the committee is to be commended for engaging in an exercise of blue-sky thinking ... the mooted reduction of the work week and work hours fails to address the lived experience of insecure workers and their families."
Speaking to ABC Radio Canberra about the concept of a four-day work week, neuropsychologist Hannah Korrel also said there was a danger of workplaces expecting more work from employees in fewer hours.
"The four-day work week is an awesome idea in theory and it can be amazing ... but the drawbacks are where people do the approach incorrectly and try to compress a five-day work week into four days," she said.
"Where we go wrong, causing further burnout, is where the company doesn't really understand that and they're forcing their employees to do more work across a shorter period of time."
Government can't implement change outside public service
Dr Arnold also said that while the ACT government had an "aspiration to be progressive", it could only implement a four-day working week within its own ranks.
He suggested the most positive outcome of the ACT adopting the shorter work week may come in the form of being a case study for national consideration of the change, either through implementation within the ACT government's own staffing or through feedback from employees.
"The government might at best foster community discussion through proposed changes to ACT Public Service employment (and employment in other areas of the territory public sector) and might foster consideration of national changes through the National Federation Reform Council.
The inquiry remains open for submissions until May 13.
