Research shows at least 18 Kiwi companies have embraced the four-day week

Flexible working has become important to Kiwis looking for work-life balance. Photo/Getty Images.

Nearly 20 Kiwi companies have challenged the nine-to-five status quo by introducing a four-day week.

This according to research conducted by Perpetual Guardian, the trusts firm that last year captured local and global headlines for shifting to a four-day week.

Responding to a series of survey questions, a total of 18 New Zealand companies said they had already adopted the four-day week in sectors ranging from advertising and marketing, healthcare, finance, education and government.

Global interest is also on the rise, with a total of 39 companies giving the policy a shot off the back of the success noted by Perpetual Guardian.

The research saw participation from a sample of 2000 global and international businesses, with 58 per cent of respondents saying that they were considering the introduction of a similar policy.

"We are seeing that when it comes to dictating what an average working day entails, there has been a power shift towards the employee, and flexible working is considered by many to be the new norm for any business serious about productivity, agility and winning the war for top talent," says Perpetual Guardian chief executive Andrew Barnes.

Barnes said the four-day week had given Perpetual Guardian a major advantage in a tight job market, where potential staff can be a little picky about the roles they take.

This insight comes off the back of international research conducted by the International Workplace Group, which surveyed 15,000 employers in 80 countries.

The research found that 83 per cent of workers would turn down a job that did not offer flexible working. Around 54 per cent said that having a choice of work location is more important to them than working for a prestigious company.

Of course, this isn't uniform across all countries.

In China, for instance, only 59 per cent of those surveyed said they would turn down an opportunity without any flexibility.

This is in sharp contrast to Belgium, where 98 per cent of respondents prioritises flexibility in the workplace.

Much of this comes down to how much workers value work security over the freedom choose how and when to work.

Barnes says that in New Zealand there has been a clear power shift towards the employee, who views the work-life balance as integral to their happiness.

"The happiness-to-productivity equation for workers seemed unsolvable until the four-day week was trialled at Perpetual Guardian," Barnes said.