Flexible Working

In the US in 2016, 43 per cent [blank] employees said they had spent at least some time working remotely. We like these freedoms - but are they good [blank] business? Andrew Barnes thinks so. In late 2017, he read that workers were properly productive for only a few hours a day, so he decided to experiment [blank] a four-day working week at the trust management company he founded in New Zealand. The idea was that employees would focus more to get their work done quicker, and get a paid day off in return. And they did indeed get the same amount of work done. Economist Helen Delaney [blank] the University of Auckland, who surveyed the staff, says they felt "rested and rejuvenated upon returning to work, [blank] enabled them to sustain the higher performance during the trial period". She says the exercise has generated significant interest from trade unions and government.