A top academic has backed a summertime four-day work week introduced by a major Cayman accounting firm two years ago.
Stephen Dunne said the innovation by Grant Thornton was in line with research that found a shorter week boosted staff retention, morale, motivation and productivity.
Dunne, a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh Business School, added that “time and time again” company chiefs had experienced the “positive effects of systemic work reduction”.
But he said that suggestions of work-week reductions inevitably caused “much needless handwringing”, often for political and ideological reasons.
Dunne added that economist John Maynard Keynes had predicted in the 1930s that, by 2030, the working week would be just 15 hours.
“We’re still a long way from Keynes’ prophesised 15-hour work week, but perhaps cases such as the Grant Thornton one are slowly nudging us in the right direction,” he said.
Dunne was speaking after Grant Thornton, an international firm with offices in George Town’s Cricket Square, marked the third year of a scheme where staff are given Fridays off during July and August.
A survey of the company’s Cayman staff confirmed the policy was viewed as an added benefit by staff and some even ranked it higher than other perks offered.
A spokeswoman said the scheme had 100% approval among staff as an extra benefit.
The survey also showed 75% of staff had taken advantage of the policy, and that almost half had used 50% or more of the available Fridays.
A total of 78% of respondents said the scheme helped them relax after the annual “busy season” for audit work.
‘Mutually beneficial’
The company, which has 73,000 staff spread across more than 150 countries, said its latest international business report also highlighted that “investment in our people can be mutually beneficial in continuing to retain and attract top talent”.
It added, “This supports the idea that investing in people is a critical ingredient to growing international business.”
The report, which covered 10,000 mid-market companies in 28 economies, added that investment in staff, such as allowing them to re-charge their batteries, improved quality of thinking, which “influences every area of an organisation”.
Dara Keogh, the managing partner of the firm’s Cayman branch, said, “Prioritising both the physical and mental health of our people is very much ingrained in our firm’s ethos.
“It’s the unique character, individuality, and diversity within our team that fuels our strength and sets us apart.”
He added, “We were proud to continue our summer four-day working week policy. It offers our hard-working team additional time to pursue hobbies, travel and recharge during the summer months, and we continue to see a positive impact from the programme.”
Dunne said that better working conditions had historically been achieved because they had been ‘argued after, fought for, and won by organised struggles from below”.
But he added that the recent global wave of enthusiasm for a four-day week was marked by “executive enthusiasm for less time on the job”.
Dunne said, “This is a development that precedes the pandemic although it was no doubt exacerbated by it.”
The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce did not respond to Compass requests for comment.
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So people are happier if they work one day less per week. Obviously they are.
They’d be happier still if they only worked 3 days, 2 days or 1 day a week.
But does the same amount of work get done in 4 days as was done in 5? If not the business will be non-competitive. Not to mention upset customers because they aren’t around to help them.