A New Zealand company tried a four-day work week. It was a 'resounding success'

新西蘭一公司嘗試每周只工作四天,，結(jié)果“相當(dāng)成功”。

Perpetual Guardian, which helps customers manage their wills and estates, released the results of its two-month trial this week. The company said its employees all reported greater productivity, better work-life balance and lower stress levels from working one less day a week.

Perpetual Guardian是一家管理遺囑和遺產(chǎn)的公司,，它于本周宣布了為期兩個月的試驗結(jié)果,。這家公司所有的雇員都匯報說每周少工作一天能使他們更有工作效率，工作和生活都得到了更好的平衡,，而且每周的工作壓力變小了,。

The employees — more than 240 of them — were still paid for five days a week during the experiment, which ran from the beginning of March to the end of April. The trial was conducted by outside researchers.

"It was just a theory, something I thought I wanted to try because I wanted to create a better environment for my team," Perpetual Guardian CEO Andrew Barnes told CNN. "I'm humbled that my team has responded, and they went beyond my wildest dreams.”

這家公司有超過240名的雇員，在這次試驗中仍然是獲得每周工作五天的薪酬,。試驗是從三月初開始,，至四月底。這項試驗是由一家調(diào)研公司進行的,。Perpetual Guardian的首席執(zhí)行官Andrew Barnes告訴CNN說：“當(dāng)時這只不過是個理論,，但我想嘗試一下，因為我想為我的員工創(chuàng)造一個更好的環(huán)境,。員工們這么棒反應(yīng)讓我覺得有些過意不去,，這些結(jié)果遠遠超過了我的想象。

In a survey taken late last year, only 54% of respondents said they felt able to manage their work-life balance. After the trial, that number jumped to 78%.

在去年進行的一次調(diào)查中,，只有54%的受調(diào)查人員說他們能平衡他們的工作和生活,。而試驗結(jié)束后，這一數(shù)字跳到了78%,。

Staff stress levels also decreased by around 7%, while metrics used to measure team engagement rose around 20% on average.

員工們感到壓力的程度也下降了約7%,，同時衡量員工團隊參與度的指標則平均上升了20%。

The key to the experiment's success was the staff input, said Jarrod Haar of the Auckland University of Technology, one of the researchers who conducted the experiment.

奧克蘭理工大學(xué)的參與研究的人員之一Jarrod Haar說這項試驗成功的關(guān)鍵是員工們的投入,。

"They were given the freedom to redesign things," Haar said. The experiment could be a model for other workplaces and become "a revolutionary way to work," he added.

他說：”他們有重新設(shè)計的自由,。“他還說這個試驗可以成為其他公司的樣本,，并成為”一種革命性的工作方式,。“

Barnes said employees became more productive, spending less time on social media or non-work activity. One employee even told the CEO that he stopped looking at emails from his wife about an ongoing apartment search during work hours.

Barnes說,，員工們更有創(chuàng)造力了,，對社交媒體或其它與工作無關(guān)的事的關(guān)注也減少了,。一位員工甚至告訴他的CEO說他都沒有瀏覽他妻子發(fā)來的搜索新房子的電子郵件。

"Why am I not paying based on output?" Barnes said. "Why am I paying for days in the office?”

Barnes說：“為什么我不能按照產(chǎn)出付薪水呢,？為什么我要按待在辦公室的天數(shù)付薪水呢,？”

Employees offered other ideas on measuring productivity, like having small flags to place on their desks when they didn't want to be disturbed.

員工們還提出了其他一些測量工作效率的方法,。比如當(dāng)他們不想被打擾時就在桌子上放一面小旗子,。

The experiment is particularly significant in New Zealand, which has low labor productivity compared to other countries, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

這一試驗尤其在新西蘭具有很大的意義，根據(jù)經(jīng)濟合作與發(fā)展組織說,，與其他國家相比,，新西蘭的人員工作效率很低。

Barnes has recommended to his company's board that a four-day work week be made permanent, and says it could serve as an example for other firms around the world.

Barnes已經(jīng)向公司的董事會提出了要把四天工作制變成長期的,，并說他們可以在全球為其他公司做示范,。

"What happens is you get a motivated, energized, stimulated, loyal work force," he said. "I have ended up with statistics that indicate my staff are fiercely proud of the company they work for because it gives a damn.”

他說：“結(jié)果是你的雇員是一個有動力的、活躍的,、備受激發(fā)的的,、忠誠的團隊。我的統(tǒng)計結(jié)果表明,，我的員工對他們效力的公司非常滿意,，因為他們的公司關(guān)心他們?！?/span>