This company with an office in Malaysia is attesting to the success of a 4-day work week

Four-day work week – this phrase has gained a fair amount of traction especially since alternative working arrangements became more common since global lockdowns due to COVID-19. 

Amid the debates surrounding the four-day work week policy, Australia-based affiliate marketing platform, Commission Factory, says it can attest to marked improvement in job productivity in addition to work-life balance amongst its employees. The culture has been trialled across 15 countries and has garnered positive feedback, even from its customers.

Chief Executive Officer of Commission Factory, Zane McIntyre says the policy has resulted in no financial impact, or pay reduction or company benefits since the changed was first enforced in its Sydney headquarters and since December 2020 in Malaysia.

“We have seen improvement in productivity and efficiency during this time,” Zane said. “Not only has the Malaysian team adapted to this, but they have also shown great improvement and have conveyed their appreciation for this.”

Commission Factory employees in Malaysia have been utilising the extra day to spend time with family, increase their skills and knowledge with courses, or finding a little side income to supplement their livelihood.

While acknowledging that it is still early days in the four-day work week pilot, the results have been encouraging in that there has been continued revenue growth month-on-month, as well as year-on-year.

“This is evidence that working more hours does not necessarily mean higher performance,” Zane said. “Instead, it highlights how we can adapt and be more productive with the time that is available to us.”

To keep up with progress, Commission Factory has installed a fortnightly feedback session from its staff and so far employees’ satisfaction and retention rate have increased from 89 to 95, out of 100.

“Besides having additional time with my loved ones, the four-day work week has given me tremendous opportunity to work on personal private projects (education and learning), which in return allows me to increase productivity and efficiency at work,” Syashee Ramanachalam, of the Global Integration Support department in Malaysia said. 

The policy’s success rate is also owing to clear communication and a level of transparency that allows all departments and individuals to perform their roles with little to no impact, if another was away.

The implementation of the policy empowers staff to assess the time in the day while constantly prioritising what their day or week would look like. It also translates to lesser meetings or shorter meetings being scheduled, better utilisation of technology in time management, and effective and succinct communication.

“The policy has increased efficiency and productivity and the Malaysian team love the company’s effort to ensure we have a work-life balance,” Syashee added.

The encouraging results of the policy’s implementation has spurred the Commission Factory’s mission to be a catalyst for change.

“Our focus is on the health and wellbeing of our staff, Zane said. “We are pioneering a new way of working that puts our staff health and wellbeing front and centre. We know there are many who question if they should implement the policy but we can assure that it has been positive.”

According to Zane, clients and partners of Commission Factory have responded positively to the four-day work week culture and many have even shown interest in implementing the same policy at their respective workplace.”After six months we hope to produce a full-scale report on our lessons and learnings that will give greater insight for other workplaces wishing to offer this new work-life balance to their employees,” said Marketing Manager of Commission Factory headquarters, Emily Do.