'The new norm': How Daniel's staff work four days a week with no pay c…

Exclusive: An Australian media boss who made the game-changing decision to permanently adopt a four-day week said job applications have skyrocketed since the news went public.

Daniel Willis, founder and chief executive officer of media agency Claxon, allows his workers to take every single Friday off without lower salaries or reduced hours after a successful trial in late 2024.

He told 9news.com.au it has not only astronomically boosted interest in open roles but his employees are happier and just as productive – if not more.

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"When I get to the interview stage with candidates, one of the questions I ask them is, why Claxon, why did they apply for the role?" Willis said in an update six months on.

"And always amongst their reasons is the four-day work week. So it's been great to help us attract new talent."

Willis said he could only permanently introduce a Monday to Thursday week if he kept the hours the same.

Staff at the independent growth agency, which has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, now condense their 38-hour work week across four days.

"Everybody does slightly longer days, but ultimately, because we're already a high-productivity business, it actually increases productivity," Willis explained.

"It allows us to keep that same amount of serviceable hours for clients, but with giving that additional day off for the team members."

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People are very adaptable to new environments, Willis said.

He observed his staff become accustomed to three-day weekends quite quickly.

And as for himself? Willis said he now couldn't imagine only having 48 hours of rest.

"It very quickly becomes a new norm and it can become hard to compare it to what they were like coming back after two days," he said.

"But I do know that everybody still loves it.

"I've never had a single staff member since we implemented the trial to ask to go back to five days. It wouldn't be a hard no, but not a single person has even murmured it or whispered it."

An anonymous survey during the trial period revealed some of the "truly personal" impacts of more time off on his employees and their families, Willis said.

The push for a nationwide four-day work week has once again gathered momentum after an international study found it made workers "healthier, happier, more productive".

The paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour, looked at the results of six-month trials of the shortened work week in 141 organisations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, Ireland, and the US.

An unsurprised Willis said there has been a positive outcome in every study he's seen in reducing the work week.

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"I haven't read one that says giving employees a four-day week makes them unhappier, makes them work less or have lower sort of productivity," he said.

"So that sounds exactly in line with what we've experienced at Claxon."

After Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said a four-day week was "not on our agenda" as federal parliament returns, Willis admitted he knows why there's still a lot of resistance to this new-age model.

"I think there's still a lot of fear around it and I also believe that it's only really suitable for very structured businesses," Willis said.

"Trying to move a business that was fast and loose to four days might be a bit chaotic.

"But for businesses that have a strong operating rhythm and are able to effectively manage and measure the change and the impact on staff and clients, I think they've got nothing to be fearful of."

Willis said he expects to see more and more businesses to test out four-day weeks because you "can't put the genie back in the bottle".

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