Four-day work week on the cards – if we make tech work for us

In Australia, the story is somewhat different. Despite substantial investment in digital technologies, many organisations achieve only partial digital renovations at the departmental level rather than full-scale transformation.

This siloed approach can limit the effectiveness of these initiatives, preventing organisations from realising the full potential of a cohesive, automated enterprise.

“While Australian organisations are committed to digital transformation, the reality is that most have not digitally transformed across the enterprise and instead have only digitally renovated at the departmental level,” says Hawksley.

“While these digital renovations are delivering results, because they are completed in silos, they are not realising the full potential of a fully cohesive automated enterprise.”

The burnout crisis

A recent UiPath survey of more than 1100 Australian workers reveals a troubling picture of workplace stress and burnout.

“An overwhelming 82 per cent of respondents reported feeling burnt out, with more than a third (36 per cent) experiencing very or extremely high levels of stress. This level of burnout is higher than in any other country surveyed – that’s alarming,” says Hawksley.

The survey also highlighted a desire among workers for reduced workloads and better tools to manage stress.

“Nearly two thirds - 62 per cent of workers wanted a reduced workload, while one in three (30 per cent) wanted access to AI and automation tools to help reduce the level of stress and burnout in the workplace,” says Hawksley.

“This indicates a growing recognition of the potential for automation to alleviate some of the pressures faced by today’s workforce.”

The benefits of automation

Currently, only 25 per cent of Australian knowledge workers use a combination of generative AI and automation in their daily tasks.

“Of those, 90 per cent reported saving up to 25 hours per week through the use of these technologies.

“One quarter of those surveyed said they are using gen AI tools in their work every day - the majority, 60 per cent, said they received no formal instruction or training from their employers on how to use it and what to use it for.”

“This significant time savings underscores the potential benefits of broader adoption of these tools.”

However, the missed opportunity is evident: 75 per cent of workers do not currently have access to AI-powered workplace tools, which could otherwise contribute to reducing burnout and supporting the shift towards a four-day work week.

“Generative AI started to steal all the headlines, and like Bitcoin, everybody down to the taxi driver was talking about it,” Hawksley says.

“There’s still a lot of control and proper procedure around the way that corporates adopted at enterprise scale.”

A vision for the future

The idea of a four-day work week has long been advocated by experts who argue that reducing the workweek can improve productivity and employee satisfaction.

“For 25 years, I’ve had this view that we all work too hard and a lot of it is unnecessary,” says Hawksley.

“We need to do something about our hard work. We should be working four days and then enjoying a long weekend.”

Paul Joseph, IT partner at global consultants RSM’s Australian arm, says implementing UiPath’s automation solutions has revolutionised their operations.

“The implementation of UiPath’s automation solutions has significantly transformed the daily operations and productivity within our organisation,” says Joseph.

“By automating repetitive tasks, we have enhanced quality control and improved operational efficiency. This shift has allowed our employees to focus on more strategic and creative tasks, fostering an environment of innovation and continuous improvement and allowing a stronger focus on client advisory work.”

RSM faced challenges during their initial adoption of automation tools, including ensuring that they focused on high-value processes to maximise efficiency.

“We were determined not to automate for the sake of automation,” Joseph says.

“Our team of highly skilled business analysts applied Six Sigma methodologies to ensure processes were optimised before we applied automation.”

This careful approach resulted in significant rewards.

“In the 2 1/2 years since we adopted UiPath, we have identified over $10 million in savings,” Joseph says.

Joseph says the concept of a four-day work week is an “intriguing proposition” that businesses may consider as they reap the benefits of automation.

“While automation tools play a pivotal role in streamlining operations and enhancing productivity, it is ultimately up to each business to determine how best to reinvest the time savings obtained from these efficiencies,” he says.

“Rather than directly translating to a shorter work week, the time saved could be used to offer employees a better experience by eliminating mundane, repetitive tasks.

“This enables them to focus on more value-added services for our clients. Businesses will need to carefully assess how they can best reinvest the benefits of automation, which may include, but is not limited to, the potential for a four-day work week.”

Joseph believes the key is to leverage automation to create more meaningful and fulfilling work experiences, thereby fostering a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

And the future?

“The future of automation is poised to bring about a definitive improvement in employee experience and engagement,” says Joseph.

“In our very early stages or implementing AI, we were already seeing an improvement in employee satisfaction by removing repetitive, mundane tasks.

“As we integrate more advanced technologies into our workflows, we can expect a positive impact on work-life balance and employee satisfaction.

“Automation will assist in employee retention and attract new talent, especially graduates who are looking for companies that have invested in the digital foundations to support the workforce of the future by providing an attractive place to work, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous learning.”

To learn more about enterprise automation, please visit UiPath.