Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) backed the proposal that will give full-time employees the option to work a 38-hour week over four days. This would result in 9.5-hour days.
Employees will still be required to work up to four weekend shifts a month, as the weekends are the supermarkets’ busiest days.
“That could be one weekend shift per week i.e. a Saturday or a Sunday, or it could be two weekends working Saturday and Sunday, and two weekends off,” SDA NSW secretary Bernie Smith told The Australian.
Woolworths is following the worldwide trend of transitioning to a four-day workweek to give employees a better work-life balance.
In 2023, Bunnings conducted a trial of a four-day workweek for full-time employees.
As part of a trial with 4 Day Work Week Global in August 2022, 26 Australian businesses participated in giving employees shorter work weeks to great success.
They reported a 44 per cent reduction in absenteeism and 9 per cent reduction in resignations.
