GO Communications shortens workweek to 4.5 days

GO Communications is slashing its workweek by half a day from five days to 4.5 days, effective March 2020. From next month onwards, the GO office will observe official working hours from 9 am to 1 pm every Friday. Meanwhile, other terms such as employee salary and working hours from Monday to Thursday (9 am to 6 pm) will remain unchanged.

Slashing the workweek is uncommon in Malaysia and CEO Peter de Krester said the move was "a calculated strategy" for the team, based on research and results. He added that variations of the shorter workweek have worked for a number of companies in Europe, the United States, New Zealand and Japan to "superb effect".

"We could very well be the first agency in Malaysia or even the region to implement a 4.5-day workweek but I'll bet it won’t be long before more companies here implement similar changes,” de Krester said.

He also explained that happy employees are naturally more productive employees. More than merely preaching a strong work-life balance, GO Communications sees it as its responsibility to put words into action. "Of course, there’s no secret that this is also designed as a team retention and attraction mechanism, while encouraging greater productivity," he said.

In this era of technology, it is also crucial for companies to constantly evolve while boosting productivity, and at the same time empowering colleagues to utilise their time more effectively towards improved results. Gone are the days when working late and long hours and burning the midnight oil was the norm, which often results in employee fatigue and diminished results,” he explained.

(Read also: The ‘real and pressing’ issue of burnout amongst Malaysian executives in adland)