Are Southeast Asians open to compressed 4-day work weeks?
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Flexible work arrangements have dominated conversations of new norms in the post-pandemic world, which brought the topic of 4-day work weeks back in the spotlight. Few companies have implemented it, so we wanted to find out what hiring decision makers think about compressed 4-day work weeks, where employees are required to clock the same work hours, except within shorter weeks.
The survey found that working five days a week is typical in most Southeast Asian countries except Indonesia and Vietnam, where six days work weeks are more common.
Receptiveness towards compressed four-day work weeks is rather positive, with at least seven in 10 in Southeast Asia indicating at least an eight from a 0 to 10 scale when asked how much they would like this arrangement to be implemented at their workplaces - this includes Vietnam (78%), and Indonesia which is slightly below the average at 69%. However, there’s a stark exception in Malaysia where only 48% voted so.
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"An initial review requires the structure of this offering. Will all employees work the same four days, or will there be staggered days off, or overlapping or core hours on-site during the workdays? What jobs are suitable for this type of arrangement, and which may not be? This requires that a thorough and transparent job analysis for all company roles be conducted." - Dr. Melanie Peacock PhD, MBA, FCPHR, SHRM-SCP
Read the full feature on Human Resources Director Asia
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