In recent years, calls for shorter working ours without a reduction in pay, in terms of a four-day week (4DW), have become increasingly prominent around the developed world.

Recognition of the coming impact of automation and technological change on our working lives, alongside a burgeoning desire to spend less time tied up in work, has put a reduction in working hours firmly on the policy-maker’s table.

Our Community moved to a four-day week, as part of its progressive commitment to work-life balance, becoming an employer of choice and testing the waters for the not-for-profits it serves. It was among the first workplaces in Australia to make the move.

As part of its commitment to promoting the benefits of a shorter standard full time working week to the wider community, Our Community engaged Per Capita to produce a localised analysis of the trial, applying a gender lens to the findings in order to highlight the benefits reduced working hours can bring to social and economic gender equality.

This report summarises the results of the trial and offers a comprehensive account of its story and development with a particular focus through a gender lens. The aim is to provide policymakers, unions, employers, and non-government organisations with a deep insight into a successful trial of a shorter working week, adding to the mounting evidence in favour of reducing working hours worldwide.