Work less, get paid more: New Zealand firm's method to boost productivity an 'unmitigated success'

To boost the productivity of its employees and also help them manage their stress-levels, a New Zealand-based trust and estates firm Perpetual Guardian introduced a six-week programme earlier this year where employees of the firm worked four days a week while getting paid for five.

According to the founder Andrew Barnes, the initiative was so successful that the board will vote next week on making it a permanent policy.

"I figured if I gave people off a day a week, that means it's a day they could do all that other stuff, and that might then change the way they worked when they were in the office," Barnes told CBS MoneyWatch.

While the employees were elated about the test, there were certain conditions, he noted.

All 230 employees of the firm were given one month to create productivity measures that would list out how they would complete their work within 32-hours a week.

According to Barnes, at the end of the trial, the revenue and profits of Perpetual Guardian remained the same.

"What that means is the team is 20 percent more productive in the office. The benefits from this are far wider than people actually appreciate," Barnes said.

To get more accurate results, Perpetual Guardian hired two researchers to track the impact on employees.

According to the study of human resources professor at Auckland University of Technology Jarrod Haar, overall stress-level of the employees declined and work-life balance improved.

Helen Delaney of the University of Auckland Business School noticed a higher level of motivation amongst the employees and also found that workers were more focused while on the job.