On Ireland's most cutting edge current affairs show, Matt and his guests provide a running stream of intelligent opinions and heated debates on the issues that matter most to Irish listeners. You might not always agree, but you'll never want to miss a Word.
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The Last Word with Matt Cooper
Irish companies are being encouraged to introduce a four-day working week. The '4-Day Week Ireland' initiative has been put forward by a coalition of businesses, unions, environmentalists, academics and NGOs. Andrew Barnes is the founder of Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand-based company which won international acclaim when it introduced a four-day week for its 250 staff last year. Under this system, staff at the company receive 100% pay for working 80% of the time, provided they reach 100% productivity. Andrew told The Last Word that productivity has increased, and his workers are happier as a result. "If you have a happy, engaged, rested workforce you're going to get better output." We were also joined by Sinead Brady, founder of WorkStyle and a career and coaching psychologist, and John Barry, managing director of the HR support company Management Support Services, to discuss whether a four-day week would be better for everyone. Listen to the interview in full by pressing the play button on this page.