The Four-Day Work Week: Denying the Obvious

If we want higher wages, better living standards, and a stronger economy, the answer isn’t to do less work

We seem to be living in an era where basic logic is treated as optional. The latest example? The unions’ push for a four-day working week with five days’ pay. It’s the kind of idea that sounds like a dream over coffee but collapses the moment you test it against reality.

Common Sense Test

Here’s the thing: you can’t fit five days’ work into four and if you can, it means you’re not producing enough in the five you’re already being paid for. That’s not innovation, that’s inefficiency, plain and simple. Common sense says if there’s room to chop 20% of the week and still meet targets, then something has been wrong with work productivity all along.

The Union Promise: Job Satisfaction

The unions argue that fewer days will boost morale and job satisfaction, therefore workers will produce more in less time. It’s a seductive idea. Who wouldn’t want a long weekend every weekend? But satisfaction doesn’t always translate into output. If it did, our current workplace arrangements with public holidays, personal leave, long service leave, and flexibility would have us punching above our weight on productivity. Instead, our national output per worker is stagnant, and our competitiveness is slipping.

The Coverage Problem

Then there’s the reality of industries that simply cannot shut the doors after four days. Hospitals, aged care, retail, logistics, utilities, hospitality, and manufacturing all need to be manned five, six, or even seven days a week. Under a four-day model, these sectors would need 20% more workers to cover rosters — which means 20% higher wage bills. In the private sector, that pushes up the price of everything. In the public sector, taxpayers foot the bill. Either way, it’s unsustainable.

A Productivity Reality Check

Australia’s productivity is already in the doldrums. We’re working fewer hours, effectively producing less per worker and losing ground against international competitors. Energy costs are high, infrastructure is stretched, and skills mismatches are holding industries back. Adding a shorter week with the same pay doesn’t solve any of this — it makes it worse. It’s like deciding the best way to win a marathon is to run fewer kilometres. You might feel fresher, but you won’t reach the finish line.

The Real Answer

If we want higher wages, better living standards, and a stronger economy, the answer isn’t to do less work — it’s to produce more, and do it better. Real prosperity comes from higher productivity, not legislated leisure. Pretending otherwise is wishful thinking dressed up as policy.

The truth is simple: you can’t legislate prosperity by cutting the workweek and keeping the pay the same. That’s not progress — it’s a shortcut to nowhere.