Since implementing an optional four day work week, Bellambi work belt manufacturer Buckaroo has seen improvements in staff wellbeing and retention, maintained productivity and easily attracted new staff at a time of staff shortages, but, as CEO Dan Burns says, "Mondays are still Mondays".
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"I don't think anyone gets away from Mondayitis," he said.
Except for those that don't work Mondays, then, it's Tuesdayitis.
Buckaroo is one of the early adopters of a four day work week in Australia, after a trial in 2021 proved so successful the company decided to make the arrangement permanent.
Initially, the compressed work week was primarily for production staff, but since being put in place permanently, all staff members can now adopt the alternative work arrangement.
Staff can choose whether to work regular hours or the four day week and those wishing to have a three day weekend can pick which day of the week they take off.
Implementing a flexible model means the business remains open Monday to Friday, producing hand-made leather belts for trade and construction workers, and, as Mr Burns points out, the longer hours are not for everyone.
"It does make for long, 10 hour days, by the time you factor in breaks, so some people still choose to do the five day week," he said. "But, generally, the consensus from our team is that they have a better time to recharge in those three days off."
The idea of reducing the work week to four days rather than five has taken off worldwide since the pandemic led to a collective rethinking in the way we work.
Countries and companies around the globe are trialling new work weeks with one of the largest trials in Britain, where 3000 workers at 60 companies are taking part.
Driving these experiments are staff and managers discovering that better work-life balance leads to improved productivity and staff less likely to swap jobs.
As part of the adoption of a four day week, Buckaroo has hired additional staff to ensure there are enough people on site at any one time to meet increasing demand for its handcrafted belts.
"Our goal is to make sure each of the sections are adequately staffed to ensure production outputs, receive deliveries and push out orders to our customers five days a week," Mr Burns said.
Internationally, four day work weeks have often focused on workers in professional roles, where workers are not bound by the pressure of a production line. In areas such as manufacturing, efforts to promote productivity have instead highlighted the potential of automation and digitisation under the banner of Advanced Manufacturing or Industry 4.0.
At Buckaroo, however, the human element remains as important as ever, and while the company is a keen adopter of the latest technology, its point of difference - customised, handmade products - means that worker happiness and satisfaction is key.
"With any handcrafted, high quality product, there is some element of handwork in there," Mr Burns said.
As the business adapts to its new paradigm, general manager Claudeen Martinez said there was strong domestic demand for Buckaroo's products.
"We have seen the industry grow their requirements and their ability to do their job even more efficiently than ever before," she said. "Project schedules have become far more demanding, and that's all filtering down to us and the products that we build."
In turn, Buckaroo is looking at where it can source more of its components locally, including parts such as rivets and buckles that would otherwise only be produced overseas, particularly as supply chains remain fraught and shutdowns hit manufacturers in China.
"It'd be a great time for Australian manufacturers to really look at producing some of these products locally," Mr Burns said.
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