George Yang, Author at Goody Feed

The new norm is coming. Working from home, safe-distancing and washing hands after peeing—these have become the new norms. Reader Bao: You didn’t wash your hands after peeing before COVID-19? I’m referring to other people. Anyone who’s been in a leadership role would know that a crisis is the best time to build new habits—like what Winston Churchill has said, “Don’t waste a good crisis.” For example, in Singapore, COVID-19 might have killed lives and livelihoods, but it’s expedited our journey to be a Smart Nation—uncles and aunties now have to learn how to use technology to order food. And yesterday, during Parliament, an MP suggested building a new habit that everyone would agree on: 4-day workweek. MP Proposes 4-Day Workweek As New Norm After It’s Been Proven to Increase Productivity In case you didn’t know, 4-day workweek has been proven to increase productivity. Last year, Microsoft Japan launched a four-day workweek trial for its 2,300 lucky employees in August. The project was named, “Work-life Choice Challenge Summer 2019”. Follow us on Telegram for more informative & easy-to-read articles, or download the Goody Feed app for articles you can't find on Facebook! The employees enjoyed five Fridays off in August while still enjoying the same salary. They also got to keep their annual leaves. And here’s the thing: Productivity increased by 39.9% for that whole month. So how exactly did the productivity increase by so much? Well, it has apparently been as a result of a change in meeting schedules. For instance, multiple meetings were cut, shortened or swapped in favour of virtual meetings, instead of having them be face-to-face. Of course, having a longer weekend meant that the employees took 25.4% fewer days off during the month. They also printed 58.7% fewer pages and used 23% less electricity in the office. Now, does that sound familiar to you? It sure does to me. That’s almost like what we’re going through now. This is why Nominated MP Mohamed Irshad proposed using this period, whereby changes in workplace are frequent, to introduce the 4-day workweek. He said, “I propose moving away from the traditional five-day work week to a four-day workweek with the option of working from home on the fifth day, and even having a flexi-hours work model.” Of course, this is just a proposal from an MP and whether that would be a reality or not is up to anyone’s guess. But everything starts with an idea. And we’re not the only one who’s thinking of using this crisis to create a better new norm. New Zealand PM Suggests It, Too New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern floated the idea in a Facebook video, too. The well-loved leader across the entire globe said, “I've had lots of people suggesting we should have a four-day week. Ultimately, that really sits between employers and employees.” She was then talking about how to revive domestic tourism in her country, as New Zealand has just won the battle against COVID-19. For her case, it’s a tad easier to convince her citizens; two years ago, a New Zealand company experimented 4-day workweek and that has proven to be effective: the staff “were more creative” about solving problems. They had better attendance and reached work on time. Plus, long breaks and leaving early were a thing of the past. Also, employees came back to work more energised and it was reported that there was a 24 per cent improvement in work-life balance. So, with so many proven benefits, and with everyone less resistant to changes now (I mean, tell me bubble tea shops would be closed forever and I probably would have no response), would it finally mean that we can sleep in for three mornings every week instead of two? Let’s wait and see.

George Yang

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