Everybody Thinks A Shortened Work Week Will Be Paradise – But Can It Work In SA?

If you gave attention to the major news outlets of late, you would no doubt have heard that there is a drive to test and consider a 4 day working week. This seems to be a consequence of what businesses learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid changes that were implemented for personnel, who eventually found the "work from anywhere" regime more palatable than the traditional office grind.

Major changes happened in the working place over the past almost 3 years. Businesses sent their staff home and managed (mostly) to keep the wheels turning whilst a large complement of normally office based people worked from their homes. After the pandemic, the more progressive businesses adapted to a so-called hybrid working protocol, where the staff only come to the office for short periods and for certain specific purposes – for the rest they are left to work in the comfort of their own homes (or local coffee shops, or even whilst touring the country). There are