4-day work week tough for some F&Bs, but other benefits on offer to attract workers

Tenya currently uses part-timers to ensure its two outlets are manned during opening hours and is in the process of hiring more people. 

While the outlets are still trying to manage scheduling difficulties due to a shortage of staff, Ms Sim said a four-day work week is “here to stay”. 

“It has managed to be not just beneficial but also sustainable in the long run, proven by our desired results – staff wellness.” 

FOUR-DAY WEEK “MORE TIRING”

Other F&B employers that CNA spoke to said it is difficult to implement a shorter work week, with most citing a lack of manpower as the main challenge.

One restaurant that tried out a four-day week did away with it in less than a year.

The Social Outcast, which sells woodsmoked and charcoal-grilled fare at The Grandstand, told CNA that after a close to 10-month trial, employees requested to return to a five-day week.

Founders Noelle Chua and Aminurrashid Hasnordin said staff complained they were more tired with three staggered days off in a week. 

“Your body start-stop (is) irregular, and your productivity and output is not there. The chef comes back and is like, ‘Oh what am I supposed to do? I was here and I was not here’,” said Mr Aminurrashid, 42.

He said it was impossible to give three-day breaks in a continuous block due to a shortage of staff and the restaurant’s opening hours. 

The restaurant opens five days a week from Wednesday to Sunday, giving its staff a break on Mondays and Tuesdays. Staff work 44 hours a week, the same as when the eatery had a four-day work week. 

A four-day work week would be possible if the restaurant only opened on those days. But they would not be able to cover costs if the restaurant operated just four days a week, Mr Aminurrashid said. 

Lack of manpower is another challenge, as some employees did not stay long once they found another job that offered higher pay, he said. 

Co-founder Ms Chua said she would not want to cut staff’s salaries in exchange for a shorter work week. This would not work in the F&B industry where workers are attracted by higher pay, the 31-year-old said.