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.