Latest news with #productivitygains
News.com.au
12-08-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
ACTU to propose four-day work week and reduced hours that won't impact pay
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) will propose a four-day work week and shorter hours - that won't affect pay - in a bid to improve living standards. Unions have also suggested sector-specific alternatives for businesses where it was not appropriate to reduce the work week and hours. Other options include more rostered days off, lifting the amount of annual leave and 'redesigning the roster to improve predictability, security and work-balance'. Pay and conditions, such as penalty rates and overtime, would be protected to ensure a worker's wage is not impacted. The ACTU will outline its proposal at the Economic Reform Roundtable next week, saying 'workers deserve to benefit from productivity gains and technological advances'. The union pointed to a recent published study of countries, including Australia, which have trialled a four-day work week over six months. It found there was a lift in performance, a reduction in burnout and improved health and retention of workers from the 141 organisations and almost 3,000 employees involved. It also cited a Swinburne University study in 2023 which trialled the 100:80:100 model. In this model workers kept 100 per cent of what they would have been paid for five days from working 80 per cent of their hours as long as they maintained 100 per cent of their productivity. Seven out of the 10 firms involved saw higher productivity. Australians have been working 'record-hours' since the Covid pandemic, leading to a productivity slump. The Productivity Commission also flagged businesses had not made enough investment to improve efficiency. Business groups will likely be opposed to the shorter hours and four-day work week. ACTU President Michele O'Neil said the four-day work week proposal and shorter hours will benefit both the employee and employer. 'They deliver improved productivity and allow working people to work more efficiently,' she said in a statement. 'Unions want all Australians to benefit from higher productivity - not just those with money and power.' Ms O'Neil argued productivity growth did not translate to better living standards otherwise 'the average worker today would be around $350 a week better off'. 'A fair go in the age of AI should be about lifting everyone's living standards instead of just boosting corporate profits and executive bonuses,' she said. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek last month did not rule out a four-day work week. 'Well, we'll listen to all views respectfully,' she said on Sunrise.' 'The Treasurer's roundtable on productivity, I think is a great way of bringing unions and businesses and other groups together to discuss how we can make our economy stronger and more we won't be doing to improve productivity is ask people to work longer hours. We want to invest in our people, boost training, invest in technologies and new ways of working, make sure that we're playing to our competitive advantages as a nation.' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously said he wants to see practical measures put forward at the three-day event that have 'broad support'. Four-week trial a 'resounding success' The United Kingdom in 2022 trialled its largest four-week work involving 61 companies from different sectors and 2,900 workers. Each company was able to tailor the policy to fit their business to ensure productivity and challenges were met, such as giving workers Fridays off. Results showed almost four in ten employees were less stressed, one in seven suffered less burnout and anxiety, fatigue and sleep issues dropped. Over 50 per cent said they found it easier to balance work and household responsibilities and were overall more satisfied with their finances, relationships and at how they managed time. The study was a 'resounding success', with 56 of the companies continuing the four-day work week model and 18 of those saying it will become permanent. The trial was held between June and December. Shark Tank star and Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary blasted the movement which has grown in popularity in France. 'That's the stupidest idea I have ever heard,' he told Fox News in June. 'I think we should let the French go to a two-day work week and then kick their arse internationally.' Mr O'Leary backs a traditional work week and the post-Covid new norms of working from home, saying 40 per cent of his staff work remotely.
ABC News
12-08-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Union pushes for four-day work week
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has become the latest group to throw its weight behind calls for a shorter working week, saying productivity gains should be shared with workers, rather than "boosting corporate profits and executive bonuses". The peak union body will use next week's Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra to argue that reducing working hours is key to lifting living standards.
Daily Mail
12-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Major push for four-day working week in Australia without any loss of pay
Australian employers could be facing a serious movement from trade unions calling for a four-day work week. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) announced early on Wednesday that members will propose Australia move to the structure where appropriate. For those sectors where it it is not possible, it suggests the of use specific alternatives. 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. The proposal is due to be taken to next week's Economic Reform Roundtable. ACTU said it would argue workers deserve to benefit from productivity gains and technological advances, and reducing working hours is key to lifting living standards. 'Shorter working hours are good for both workers and employers,' ACTU president Michele O'Neil said. 'They deliver improved productivity and allow working people to live happier, healthier and more balanced lives. 'Unions want all Australians to benefit from higher productivity – not just those with money and power.' The Albanese government has previously not ruled out the possibility of a four-day work week. Major business groups have already submitted their proposals to the roundtable run by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, advocating for a corporate tax cut as a means to revive faltering productivity. Speaking about the upcoming productivity roundtable, Mr Albanese said he wanted businesses, unions and civil society to put forward practical measures that have 'as broad a support as possible'. 'If you had a choice between, do you have less things with more support, or more things with less broad support, then I'm in favour of the former,' Albanese said. 'The danger in something like that is you just have a list (of things) that aren't progressed.' Chalmers will convene the three-day roundtable from August 19 in Canberra, along with representatives from businesses, unions and community organisations. Representatives from the Australian Council of Trade Unions have received four of 24 invitations to the upcoming economic reform roundtable. The roundtable will also include delegates from the Business Council, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and the Australian Industry Group, among others. France introduced a four-day week in 2000 but there are concerns a similar policy in Australia could worsen the nation's productivity crisis. Bad productivity from weaker output means costs are often passed on to consumers, leading to higher prices and inflationary pressures.
National Post
18-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
Independent Study Reveals 236% ROI with Dovetail's AI-First Customer Intelligence Platform
Article content Total Economic Impact™ study highlights significant cost savings, faster time-to-insight, and productivity gains for organizations using Dovetail Article content SAN FRANCISCO & SYDNEY — A newly commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dovetail has found that organizations using Dovetail's AI-first customer intelligence platform achieved a 236% return on investment (ROI) over three years, with payback occurring within under six months. Article content Article content Released in April 2025, the Total Economic Impact™ of Dovetail study examines the financial and operational benefits of using Dovetail to unify, analyze, and act on customer insights. Based on interviews with Dovetail customers, combined to form a composite organization model, the study found that businesses: Article content Realized over $1.05 million in productivity gains through streamlined workflows Generated $507,000 in additional profit by increasing primary user capacity by 30%, enabling faster product iterations Saved 36,000 hours over three years on manual research processes such as transcript checks and cross-video analysis Saved $416,000 over three years by retiring legacy research tools, transcription services, and repositories Article content 'Instead of taking days to analyze the results, you get it almost instantly per session,' said the Head of Research and Insights at a healthcare organization featured in the study. 'Now, the production time alone of saving three days or more is significant to speed to market. The sooner you capture value in the market, the sooner you get a return on investment. So that alone I would say speeds [projects] up by at least 30%.' Article content A Design Research Lead at an IT services company added: 'Without Dovetail, we would either need more researchers, or we would just have to accept poor quality. We would probably be talking about an additional five to 10 researchers, which is 30% more. Using Dovetail early in the product lifecycle has enabled us to support more projects, including several with seven-figure outcomes.' Article content Customers also cited improved collaboration across departments, stronger alignment on customer needs, and greater agility in product development and strategic planning. Article content 'The fastest-growing companies today aren't just shipping fast, they're shipping the right things,' said Benjamin Humphrey, CEO and co-founder of Dovetail. 'We believe this study validates what our customers experience every day: when teams are aligned around real customer intelligence, they move faster, waste less, and build with confidence. We're proud to partner with forward-thinking teams who are proving that better customer understanding drives better outcomes.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
